Fighting Spirit
by Danmakujinkyaku
Summary: Izuku Midoriya believes there are three tenets of heroism: Heart, Hard Work, and Discipline. Despite lacking a Quirk, Izuku will uphold these laws on his path to be a hero. He won't give up, no matter who or what stands in his way. He'll hone his skills, master his craft, and show the world his spirit.
1. Exposilogue

_Inhalation. Exhalation._

Those were all that Izuku Midoriya did as he sat cross-legged in the middle of the room. A lone candle, scentless, flickered in front of him. He could not see the small, glowing flame; his eyes were closed, as was his mind and spirit. There would be no influence from the outside world affecting his meditation.

Instead of the outside, Izuku Midoriya focused on himself and his body. He felt every breath travel through his nostrils, down the back of his mouth, deep into his chest, before coming back up and out. He felt his heart beating a slow, steady, life-giving rhythm; it pounded lethargically against the inside of his chest. He felt his eyelids stretching over his eyes. He felt his hands upon his legs that were upon each other, and he could feel his verdant hair brushing against his scalp and forehead. He could feel his stomach moving, contracting and expanding, as it shifted the food he ate not too long ago deeper down. He could almost feel his blood moving through his body, doling out nutrients and oxygen to his cells.

 _Inhalation. Exhalation._

Cut off from the outside world, Izuku Midoriya sat there motionless. His mind was clear, his entire being relaxed; in this altered state of consciousness, Izuku felt deep in the moment.

That did not mean to say his mind would stir every once in a while.

Every so often, a stray thought entered Izuku Midoriya's mind; not all of them were conducive to an effective meditation. Some were worldly desires. Others were fears and anxieties that refused to rest. Still, it didn't take much for these thoughts to be banished and for the mind to clear again.

This lasted until the soft chime of a bell was heard; the alarm on Izuku's phone had gone off, signifying that his daily half-hour of still, mind-clearing meditation had ended. Taking one last breath, this one deeper than the last, Izuku opened his eyes. He blew out the candle in front of him and turned off the alarm on his phone. Slowly, he rose up and off of the floor in front of his bed.

Having already practiced his qigong and taichi that morning before school, and already having done his hatha yoga poses after finishing today's note-taking, Izuku had one last thing to do before his mother prepared dinner. Grabbing his phone, as well as a towel, a bag of salted chips, and a water bottle, he went to the kitchen. As usual, his mother, the sweet and chubby Inko Midoriya, was cooking dinner; it looked like today would be some type of fish.

"Mom! I'm going down to Dagobah Beach for my exercises." Inko briefly made stopped preparing food to look at her son, before she returned to her work.

"Alright, sweetie! Remember to be careful and to look both ways before crossing."

"I will!" With that, the green-haired teen exited his apartment and began to jog to the beach.

When he arrived, it was just the same as it was yesterday… and the day before that… and the week before that… and the year before that. It was a beach of beautiful sand and crystal-clear water, with the only things marring its appearance being the kilotons of junk and scrap metal that lay scattered around the otherwise pristine spot.

Carefully, Izuku made his way through the beach, taking care not to accidentally cut himself on the jagged strips of metal that marked some of the trashed, abandoned objects of glass, metal, plastic, and sometimes wood. Eventually, he made his way to his destination, hidden behind giant piles of trash.

It was his own personal gym… of sorts. There weren't weights or treadmills, but instead different types of dummies. There was one that was an old sack filled with sand and suspended from chains, perfect for strengthening blows; another was a modified, metal mu ren zhuang- a stationary, but rotatable, dummy with padded parts sticking out that, when hit, would cause the dummy to rotate, forcing users to hit and block as if it were an actual person. There was also a speed bag, which was attached to a pendulum attached to another pendulum anchored to the half-torn roof of an old sedan in a way that made the speed bag hang around near Izuku's chest; this chaotic mess moved randomly, with only a small indication of where the hittable part would end up, much like an agile opponent that one had no idea when or how they would move.

Halfway buried in the sand, in front of the training dummies, were a pair of blunted metal rods.

After setting a 45-minute timer, Izuku put his phone, bag of chips, towel and water bottle on top of a no-longer-functional television set and walked up to the metal, rotatable dummy. After stretching a bit, he hit one of the padded posts protruding from the dummy before hitting another. And another. And another.

Soon, he was hitting the protrusions and blocking them as they spun back around to hit him at a speed the average person would feel impressed by- but nothing to completely awe them. Still, it was something that exerted a lot of effort from Izuku, and when the timer rang he was sweating heavily and had finished 1/4 of his water bottle and bag of salted chips.

Turning off that timer, he set another one- this time for 5 minutes, so he could take a short break.

Inhalation, exhalation, munch, munch, gulp.

Finishing his small break, Izuku Midoriya set a new timer on his phone for 30 minutes. He bent down and picked up the metal rods. Taking a stance in front of the dummy, he swung the rods.

30 minutes later, after poking and swinging and blocking with the rods, Izuku heaved air and jabbed the rods back into the sand. Finishing off his chips and water bottle, Izuku dried himself off with a towel, he picked up his phone and texted his mom that he would be home shortly. After finding a bin t properly dispose his trash in, Izuku jogged home, knowing he would be back at the junkyard beach the next day to hit one of the other dummies. He'd do it again the day after that, and the day after that, and the day after that.

Until he forged his own heroic path.

* * *

Decades ago, a baby was born with the ability to shine like gold; she had manifested the world's first genetic superpower, known as a Quirk, and many more would be born with other fantastical abilities. With these new abilities in hand, many began using them for their own selfish wants and for villainous acts while others used theirs to help others and fight crime; when governments around the world began to legalize, regulate, and licentize these do-gooders, the Age of Heroes had finally begun.

By now, the majority of the world's population- 80% at that- had manifested Quirks. The other 20% were the Quirk-less, marked by having an extraneous, vestigial pinky toe. They lived a life of boredom, a life of fear; many had been bullied, ostracized, and discriminated against.

Izuku Midoriya was one such broken soul.

And he had learned this lesson early on: People are not born equal.

But that doesn't mean Izuku would stop trying to be equal with everyone around him; this includes his personal volcano, a mountain for him to climb before he could do anything: Katsuki Bakugo. They were childhood friends until soon after Izuku discovered his Quirkless situation; Katsuki himself had an impressive quirk with explosive power, as well as an explosive personality equipped with blazing pride that wouldn't let him be friends-for-long with a Quirkless, defenseless Izuku- Deku for short.

Izuku had wondered to himself many times following that day in the park where he was beaten down simply for trying to play Hero despite his Quirklessness: where did their friendship sour? His friend, Kacchan, couldn't possibly be this mean and petty, right? These thoughts consumed him for only a few weeks, until he saw a video that changed his life forever and replaced his questioning with a strong drive.

He had simply been on NicoTube watching interviews with Heroes from when the era when Quirks first began to manifest; it was his hobby to learn about Heroes and their Quirks, so he figured it would be a nice idea to go sifting through the annals of history. The videos were old, barely watched, and of low resolution; Izuku must've been the first person to see these videos for a few decades, at least. Then, he spotted a title that caught his attention: "Fimmy Jallon interviews the Quirkless Kung-Fu Hero: Dragon Jumpsuit." Without any hesitation, Izuku clicked the link.

As he watched the interview, Izuku's face contorted into shock, then awe, then a grin, and lastly a beaming smile with the pupils of his eyes dilated to the max. There he was, watching a video about the dawn of the Heroic Age and one of its greatest products: someone who was quirkless like him.

Partway through the interview-odd, since this was a question that should've been asked at the beginning- Fimmy Jallon asked the Hero why he was a popular figure and why he continued to be a Hero, despite lacking powers like everyone else had.

"You say I have no powers, just because I don't have a Quirk? Simply because I rely on the limits of the human body and human skill? Do not look down on me for lacking a Quirk. I have power on par with Iron Cyborg, Captain Super, and Ultra-Rider. It is the power that drives people to protect and serve their fellow man, to defend from evil. Do not jump to the conclusion that I mean my skill in the martial arts, a skill that I honed and worked on for many years. No, my power is Heroism itself! As I outlined in my book _The Way of the Hero_ , all someone needs to have to be a Hero are the three tenets of Heart, Hard Work, and most of all, Discipline.

The path of the Hero is not easy: it is fraught with not just danger and foes, but setbacks, mountains, hard expectations, rivals, and temptations. It is so easy to give up, to give in to any of the things I've mentioned, or worse. A Hero must be willing, and able, to get through any hoop and hurdle. They must be willing to practice and refine their techniques and abilities, to grow and learn as I have. My martial arts skills have helped me to shape and signify the three tenets as they are, because someone cannot call themself a Hero unless they have the desire to be a hero, the will to strengthen their bodies and improve their skills, and the discipline to keep themselves from crossing a thin border into villainy.

As long as someone can do those three, then anyone- and I mean, anyone- can be a Hero!"

Izuku couldn't listen to the next part of the interview, a discussion on an up-coming (to them, at least) early version of China's Hero Laws. He was too busy crying in happiness, a noise that attracted his mother from her room.

It was then that Izuku showed her the video and communicated to her his own idea of becoming a Hero, his own idea of fulfilling his dream before it could get crushed by a lifetime of bullying. At her son's passion, Inko Midoriya couldn't help but cry too.

* * *

Izuku had grown past his initial training regimen, adding on to it and subtracting from it over the last ten years of his young life. He had sifted through the internet, looking for martial arts drills and styles for him to practice with, techniques he could use as a hero- and as a kid growing up.

From hard styles to strengthen his body to soft styles to strengthen his mind and soul, Izuku's bullies never picked on him the same again. They still attacked him with words and fists, as normal bullies did; but now their words were easier to shrug off, and he could give a bruise for a bruise- as long as it was done in reactive self-defense, never preemptive. As he grew older and more proficient, he was being picked on less and less. Still, he was getting picked on, with the chief offender being Katsuki Bakugou.

Maybe it was because of that blazing pride of his that wouldn't allow anyone to surpass him in anything, nevermind reach his level. Maybe it was because he had sadistic tendencies, and the potential for villainy. Maybe it was because of the general negativity directed towards the Quirkless minority. Whatever it was, Katsuki would always take time out of the day to insult, berate, and sometimes fight with Izuku, calling him "Deku" all the while. Honestly, he was the only one who could really do any sort of physical or psychological damage to Izuku.

The torn shirt he wore, and the burnt notebook in his hand that contained all his notes on Hero's Quirks and heroic ideals and all his own plans and dreams for when he could finally reach that Hero stage, were proof of that. Izuku just knew, as he walked home from another day of school, that he was going to bruise all over later.

Bruises will be bruises, be they mental or physical. But bruises can be shrugged off, they can be healed. All it takes is a strong enough will, a drive to patch up, move on, and grow from the experience- besides, plants grow more after a rainstorm, and people do too. It doesn't matter who or what caused the bruises, from old supposed-friends like Katsuki Bakugou to random strangers like that person made out of slime sneaking up behind Izuku. He'll be fine so long as he keeps his skills and the three tenets of Heart, Hard Work, and Discipline.

He'll be fine so long as he keeps up his fighting spirit.

* * *

 **A/N: "Hey, so what do you think?"**

 **"... Seriously? That's how you end chapter 1?"**

 **"Yes."**

 **" It's no wonder you have a C in your Language Arts class. Hell, the ending isn't even as much of a problem as some other crap in this, like Dragon Jumpsuit's speech- and his Hero name."**

 **"Funny, the only piece of crap I see for miles is you."**

 **"Dumbass, I _am_ you."**

 **... Oh shit he's right.**


	2. Seen it, Skip it

Having had to deal with his fair share of schoolyard scraps, most of them being one-vs-many, Izuku had developed a stronger awareness of his surroundings than most others his age. As such, he had noticed a sound akin to a moving liquid behind him as he passed under a bridge on his walk home, one that wouldn't be so easy to notice for the average Japanese 8th-grader. Hearing an unknown, and potentially dangerous, sound aroused his well-used flight-or-fight response, and with speed Izuku dashed forward a little bit before turning around to see what was there.

"Ooh hoo hoo, what have we here?" That was the gurgling voice of the sentient sludge that was currently in front of Izuku. It was a quivering, wavering, dripping mass with eyes and a mouth that directed a grotesque smile at Izuku. "You could tell I was in those sewers, kid. That means you either got a sensory Quirk or a really good combat Quirk. Heh heh, both of those sound really good right now." As the slime spoke, the gears of Izuku's thought process were turning.

 _Ok, he's a slimy person with a slime Quirk- no, wait, a Quirk that turns his body into a slime-like substance with fluid properties. That means I can't really hit him, it'll just send chunks of goo and goop everywhere. That would be detrimental to me, since I don't know if he can control those split pieces like he can control his amorphous body. I also don't know if the substance he's turned into is polar or not- not like that would help, since I wouldn't know where the nearest fire-hydrant is to test that theory. I wonder if I can get away for a long enough time to call a hero before coming back and distracting this guy from seeking out other civilians?_

"Well, kid, listen up." The ooze burbled. "Just let me come into you quietly, ok? I need a good vessel, something to hide in from the Hero chasing me right now. Play along, boy, and I promise not to make it hurt so much." While that statement set alarm bells off in Izuku's head, it also gave him another piece to add to the puzzle of "what's he gonna do?"

 _A Hero's chasing him? Good, that means I can more easily keep an eye on this guy and make sure he doesn't go after any other civilians. Now, what do I have in my bag that I can use to stall him without touching him?_ Without taking his eyes off the thug in front of him, Izuku felt around his backpack before feeling something long, rectangular and solid. _My old pencil case? Well, I have been meaning to buy a new one. But only one thing to use escrima with? That'll be a bit weird for me right now. No time like the present to try it out, though!_

In a single, smooth motion, Izuku took his bag from his back, opened the zipper, and put it back on his back while taking out the old, dark-green pencil case. It was plastic, hard, dense- thanks to all the writing utensils inside it- and skinny enough to be easily gripped in one hand. Holding it in his dominant hand, he positioned himself so that he was in a lowered stance, legs a bit wide, the hand holding the improvised armament between his enemy and the majority of his body. The slime guy looked at Izuku before chuckling.

"Are you serious, kid? Look at me- how can you even touch when I'm fluid? Alright, I'm game for a little playtime. But just so you know, boy, you've entered a-"

" **NEVER FEAR!"** They heard the sound of something hard hitting metal with powerful force and watched as the manhole covering a nearby sewer ( _oh, so THAT'S where he came from_ ) erupted upwards. Crawling out of the manhole, in all his glory- despite the lack of a hero costume- was a Hero. Not just any Hero- he was voted as Japan's absolute Number 1 ranked Hero, as well as the Number 1 in the whole world right ahead of China's "Pandaman Po", South Africa's "Captain Zulu", and Canada's "Jack Lumber"; he was Izuku's favorite Hero, tied with Dragon Jumpsuit of course, and known as the Symbol of Peace.

"A-A-All Might…"

"All Might‽ Oh no!"

" **Oh no is correct, villain. You gave me quite a chase through the sewers- hard to keep track of someone like you when sludge is everywhere."** He took a glance at Izuku. " **I can see you had a bit of trouble here as well, thug. Young man over there, good job stalling him for me! And now, villain, we end this chase!"** Slowly, All Might cocked his fist backwards. Realizing what that meant, Izuku leapt for cover behind part of the bridge..

"Oh no you don't!" With a roar, he tried to launch himself at the Symbol of Peace.

 _Ooh, bad call there, slime guy._

" **TEXAS SMASH!"** He rocketed his fist forward, sending out a shockwave of energy that splattered the slugdge villain all over the pavement as well as knocking the bad guy out cold. As Izuku picked himself up and dusted off his clothes, he could barely suppress his squealing thoughts.

* * *

Izuku could barely suppress his thoughts of the events that occured over the past 10 minutes.

 _Alright, so I thank the No. 1 Hero of Japan, I help him stuff the unconscious slime guy inside a plastic bottle, I get his autograph and tell him my name. He goes to leap away heroically, I see he drops his wallet, I go to give it to him but accidentally latch onto his pant leg as he takes off. He sees me, we land on a rooftop, and suddenly he's now in front of me but not as everyone's favorite buff hero; no, he's like a skeleton now! And he received that form, plus a major scarring and injury, from a secret villain attack. Ok, this is not how I thought a meeting with All Might would go, but it's pretty tame and ok for the most part. I just have to keep my mouth shut about his form and the attack. Doable. Gulp._

"Well, that's a number to take in. But I'll just have to keep it locked in, then."

" **You got that right, kid."** The emaciated hero thought of something. " **Kid… what are you aiming to be when you grow up?"**

"Simple: I want to be a Hero like you. I want to help people with a fearless smile and a never-give-up attitude."

" **A hero like me? A fearless smile? Well, kid, that's a straight path to pain and suffering. A Hero with that type of smile has to never be daunted by evil or any other obstacle. Ever since that fateful day 5 years back, my smile has been to stave off fear and pressure."** Izuku gulped.

"I understand that, but still my heart is set on becoming a Hero. I'll uphold the tenets of Heroism, and protect all those that need it. As for pain and pressure… for a person who's been Quirkless all their life, like me," All Might's eyes focused, "They're just old annoyances." The hero tch'ed.

" **Weren't you listening to my story, kid? The path to being a hero is hard, but for most people it's doable. But you're Quirkless. While many's path to being a Hero is littered with shards of broken glass, yours is covered by a forest of thorns and brambles."**

"As true as that is, I won't give up. And becoming a Quirkless Hero _is_ doable. Just look at Dragon Jumpsuit! He was Quirkless, but he had great martial arts skills, just like what I'm training to have!"

" **Knowing of a Hero from the Dawn… you're a bit of a nerd, aren't you? But since you know about him, then don't you also know that Quirks were only present in less than 30% of the world's population at the time? And you should also know that his martial arts prowess could only take him so far; half of all his confirmed fights with Quirk-carrying villains involved Dragon Jumpsuit needing to team up with a Quirk-carrying Hero. Think of this, kid: what if I hadn't popped out of those sewers in time? Could you really hold off a villain like that for long without some Quirk?"** All Might moved from his spot on the roof towards a door leading to the downstairs area.

" **Kid, you may have Heart, Hard Work, and Discipline. But that doesn't mean you're automatically a Hero. If you want my opinion, kid, be a police officer when you're older. You can also help people with a smile, and you claim to have basic self-defense abilities already."** Before he left, he turned to look at Izuku for one last time. " **I'm gonna bring this guy to the authorities now. Remember my words carefully, kid. You can dream big; but when you gotta do it, it has to be something realistic."** With that, he descended down the steps and away from Izuku's view.

* * *

As he walked down the street, Izuku's hand clenched around his heart and tears were leaking from his tightly closed eyes, forming rivulets of salty liquid down his cheeks.

 _What he said… what All Might told me… It hurts so much._ Suddenly, he pulled his hand away from his chest and looked up to the sun. _But what is a little emotional and mental pain to me, huh?_ He wiped the tears away. _All Might himself may have tried to dissuade me… probably in an attempt to protect me. But what good is a safety tower that cuts me off from my dreams and ambitions?_ Pulling his arm away from his face, Izuku opened his hand and stared at his palm before clenching it tightly. _No pain, no gain. As All Might said, becoming a Quirkless Hero is going to be very painful. But that's fine for me. Because I will be_ _ **a Her**_ _\- WOAH!_

A massive explosion rocked Izuku from his thoughts. Turning his head, he could see a large crowd gathered around some alleyway on the other side of the street. _What's that?_ Crossing the road, Izuku waded through the crowd, hoping to catch a view of what was happening. He let out a gasp.

In the middle of the throng of sheeple, raving about madly, was the slimeball that attacked Izuku earlier. Fire and destruction were everywhere inside an enclosed space in the ring of people, while Heroes surrounded him. _He_ _ **escaped‽**_ _How and why‽ Crap, this is probably my fault. It must have fallen out of All Might's pants when I grabbed onto his leg. Dammit, I can't see if he caught someone or if he's just on his own? Damn, the Heroes can't do anything about him- he's not solid enough to hit or capture, and the guys that could have to deal with the fire. And then there's All Might- his time limit for being in muscle form was used up for the day when I kept him talking! This is double my fault, dammit!_

"Oh my god, I think he has a person inside of him!" Screamed a random person in the crowd. Izuku's mind went from high alert to even higher alert, and he squinted. Sure enough, flailing inside the body of the sludge, he could see someone. He could see someone in distress and pain.

He couldn't see that it was Kacchan, his longtime bully. But even if he could, he didn't care. He had to get that person out of there.

On instinct, he shot himself forward into the field of fire.

" **KID‽"**

* * *

"I DIDN'T NEED YOUR HELP DEKU!" After the second incident with that slime, where All Might made an appearance to save the day at the last second and where Izuku was chewed out by several pro Heroes for being reckless (At least Izuku protested back, and didn't just let the commentary wash over him), Izuku was trying to get home and salvage the rest of his Friday; he'd walk home, eat, finish his homework that night and save the workout session until tomorrow. His plans, however, were once again halted- this time they were halted by an angry, teary-eyed Katsuki Bakugou.

"I know you didn't, but I don't care; I went and helped you anyways Kacchan because that's what real Heroes are supposed to do." Izuku honestly couldn't be bothered to deal with Katsuki's crappery this lat into the day, and he attempted to just walk past the explosive teen. Katsuki wouldn't give up so easily, however.

"On and on and on about _real Heroes_ , you don't even have a fucking Quirk! All you have going for you are your fancy moves, and in the end you _still_ end up being the Quirkless, useless, defenseless Izuku we all know." He suddenly looked a little thoughtful. "Now that I think about it… WHO TRIES TO FREE SOMEONE BY **JUDO THROWING** THEM‽"

"Oh, stop whining, Kacchan. Your arm and shoulder are strong enough that they wouldn't have broken, even if I did throw you wrong. And besides, I still helped in a way. That guy was trying to hijack your body, and I distracted him long enough for All Might to show up." Katsuki snarled again.

"You also could've died, you _useless prick_. What then, asshole?"

"It would've been to help you." Katsuki tore at his hair.

"Always the same damn thing with you! Help this, help that, bleh! A real Hero's the guy that stands in the end, winning all the fights and making all the enemies and living to see the next day. Get that through your skull, Deku!"

"I could say the same thing about you, Kacchan. You always try to put me down, you always try to 'win' a fight and talk about 'winning' and being the 'absolute top dog.' Get this through your head, Kacchan: not everything about Heroism is a fight. People require a person to help them, allay their fears and aid in their recovery, a shield; not just a sword."

"Nnnrgh!" The living dynamite spat onto the ground. "Whatever, Deku. I didn't need your help!" He narrowed his eyes as he detected something in Izuku's. "And I don't need your _fucking pity_ , either." With a gruff bark, he turned and went down the street towards his own home. "Get lost."

… _I would try and say I won this argument, but I don't see any need to rub some salt into that wound. Well, now that he's gone, I guess it's time to head back home._ As he took some steps in the direction of his house, Izuku heard something. It was a rumbling sound, as if there were a million footsteps falling like hail. He could also make out a small dust cloud, which stopped right in front of him.

" **I AM HERE!"**

* * *

 **A/N: "What the hell type of chapter is this?"**

 **"It's me, skipping over things that people had already seen before that wouldn't have changed much and only leaving in things with significant enough dialogue or action changes."**

 **"Well, first of all, that's shit; second of all, the writing here is shit too."**

 **"Well, it takes shit to know shit, I guess."**

 **"Then that means that _we're_ shit, fuckwad."**

 **... Oh he's right again.**

 **Legion's Gurdian: Ok, so we have this idea of something different than just punches, kicks, and shockwaves that Izuku could use with One For All and his martial arts training (that he will definitely improve upon) but we won't give too much away otherwise we risk spoiling it.**

 **As for the other reviewers, thank you!**


	3. Red Light, Green Light

" **Mmm… not a bad physique, young one! And Dagobah Beach isn't a bad training ground, I might say! Still, you're a little lacking in muscle. As you are right now, attaining the amazing power of One For All won't cause you to explode, but it will cause severe damage to your body, especially your joints. It won't be life-threatening but it will put a cap on your growth and on One For All. As such, for the next 8 or so weeks, your workouts will be more focused on building muscle than honing your skills. To do that, you'll be cleaning up some of the junk that litters this section beach. Early Hero work was largely volunteer service of different kinds, so this will also be a nice step on your path to being a Hero!"**

* * *

The shrill sounds of a coach's whistle pierced through the early-afternoon beach air. With a strong exhale, Izuku Midoriya loaded a broken and rusty set of school lockers onto the back of a large pickup truck, where it joined several other pieces of tossed-away trash. A very sweaty Izuku looked at the person that was sitting on top of a trashed refrigerator a few feet away, watching and spotting him during his ordeal. The whistle meant that- according to Coach All Might, who was currently in his muscleless form while sporting a green wig styled into a pompadour (" **It's a disguise!"** )- training and volunteer work for that day was over.

"Hah, hah, is it really over this soon? Hah, have 2-and-a-half hours really passed by that quick? I, I could do some more, you know. Hah, hoo."

" **Yes, you could do more, Young Midoriya. However, that would lead to you overexerting yourself, which could lead to unnecessary self harm that could set you back for a while. The entrance exam for U.A. High is only 10 months away, and we want you to have One For All as soon as possible to get you used to having a Quirk. It wouldn't do good for you to waste time by having to deal with torn ligaments, fractured bones, broken lumbar spinal vertebra, dehydration or heat exhaustion. Hop in the truck- I'll drive you to your apartment complex before I drop all this garbage off at the City Scrapyard."**

The green teen complied, and they were soon driving down the road, away from the beach. With the pickup moving at a slow, leisurely speed, Izuku took some time to look out past the window. The sights and sounds of Musutafu City were a far distraction as Izuku gazed at the park near the peach, watching people walk and play and read. If Izuku wasn't so worn out from lugging around heavy objects, he'd likely be running through that park too as he jogged home. Heck, he could even sleep on that park bench over there and just rest for the day.

But Izuku knew he couldn't do that. He knew he had to go through with his relatively intensive training if he wanted a better shot at becoming a Hero; having a Quirk would significantly increase his chances of getting into a Hero school such as U.A., and so he would work for One For All. Otherwise it would be a long, difficult path that could potentially disillusion himself from Hero work into vigilantism or even villainy. Not only that, but he wouldn't want to let All Might down; the Hero saw him as a worthy successor, someone to pass on a magnificent torch to. It would hurt to betray his expectations like that.

As he thought to himself, Izuku failed to notice the red-eyed and sharp-toothed stare directed at him.

* * *

It was midway during the second week of his updated training schedule, and Izuku was doing just fine ferrying discards back and forth between the beach and the pickup truck at the beach entrance when he heard an unknown voice call out to him. Turning his head for a few seconds- he didn't want to interrupt his training for too long- he spotted a guy around his age, wearing a plain vermillion t-shirt and cargo shorts, with dark hair and ruby eyes. The most distinguishing feature about him, aside from that oddly long eyela- wait, no, that's a small scar, nevermind- was his set of shark-like sharp teeth.

"Uh… hi." Izuku gave a small nod back before he turned his head back in the direction of the truck, continuing on his happy trail. He could hear footsteps behind him- the other guy was trying to catch up with him. "Nngh, hey! W-wait up! I wanna talk!"

"Sorry," Izuku grunted as he placed a broken-down T.V. onto the truck. "I'm not going to stand still and talk right now. I gotta move, gotta work.. If you wanna talk, you're going to have to flap your gums and move your legs; either that or you'll have to wait until sometime later." He turned around to resume his training. With some reluctance, his peer followed along, a couple feet behind.

"Huff… so, uh, my name's Kirishima... Eijiro Kirishima."

"Nice to," Izuku made a small groan as he started to push a fridge- which was loaded with a bunch of other junk- across the sand. "... meet you. I'm Izuku Midoriya, and that guy over there is Aaa… Yoshimaru Yami. If you don't mind me asking- Woah! Slippery sand… anyways, can I ask what you're doing? I get that lots of people would probably wish someone 'good day' and all to someone if they're doing something, but you look like you have a question to ask."

"Hah… well, you're right. I'm just a curious bystander wondering to himself, 'what's this dude doing?' Took me a couple days of passing by, staring, and building up curiosity before I decided to just ask you guys myself. So, what are you and that dude over there doing here? 'Cause it looks like you're looking for junk metal to sell."

"You're almost right," Izuku said as he tossed a ruined wrench into a laundry machine, alongside some other small objects. "What we're really doing is multitasking. I'm talking to you while I'm training by lugging a bunch of junk back and forth between the beach and that truck over there, which also serves as a volunteer service since Dagobah Beach is getting cleaned in the process. Meanwhile, Mr. Yami's coaching me and offering some support."

"Really? That's kinda cool and manly of you!" The sharp-toothed teen's eyes sparked a bit. "Now that I think about it, it'd be really good for me to do this sorta thing too! What sort of man would let this type of garbage pile up, anyways? I'mma help you out." While Izuku made his way to the truck, the new arrival backtracked towards the beach and was about to pick up an old easy-chair before he thought of something. He turned around to look at All Might in all his skeletal glory. "Mr. Yami, right? Is it okay if I join in on your thing?" The hidden Pro Hero smiled.

" **Don't worry, kid! I overheard you talking with Young Midoriya as the two of you ran across. It's real good of you to want to improve yourself; I like it! Not only that, but you're taking a nice step to becoming a Hero- voluntary service to give back to the people. So go ahead, join in with Young Midoriya- just know that we're on a timed schedule, so you won't be able to carry as much as Young Midoriya does today. And try not to overexert yourself!"**

"Heh heh, nice! Thanks, Mr. Yami!"

* * *

As Izuku and Kirishima piled the last bits of rubbish for the day onto the back of the pickup, Izuku turned his gaze towards the other teen. _Other than our introductions, he was quiet this entire time. I'm not going to complain, but still, a bit of conversation could have been nic. Not only that, but really… why was Kirishima here?_

"Hey," The voice of the adolescent in question cut through Izuku's thoughts. "Uh, Midoriya?"

"What is it… Kirishima?"

"Why are you doing this?" He held out his hands and gestured to the entire beach. "Why are you training like this? I mean, you could easily go to a gym or something. And if you wanted to do some volunteering, there are things you could do that would more directly help other people out. Not only that, but why are you doing any sort of this in the first place?"

"Part of the answer to that is because I can train and volunteer at the same time, especially since most of the trash here is heavier than, like, a box of watermelons. Sure, it isn't as fulfilling as helping someone find their dog, but there's something to be said about seeing the sun shine unimpeded when this mountain of trash gets put away. Speaking of mountain, that's also what doing this serves as: a mountain, a challenge for me to climb over due to how intense and large scale it is. Seriously, look at how much of the beach is littered! It will definitely take a lot of Heart, Hard Work, and some Discipline to clean all this up in time for the U.A. entrance exams."

"The U.A. exams? You're trying to get into U.A.?"

"Yup. And if you're going to ask, then I'm vying for the Hero course." Eijiro Kirishima's eyes were bright as he showed off a sharp grin.

"Sweet! Well, I guess that makes us rivals in way. I'm also trying to get into the Hero course- there aren't that many seats in that department, so we'll have to compete against each other. Ah man, from what I can tell, I probably wouldn't want to compete against you anyway." The broccoli headed boy just looked at his peer with curiosity. "Don't give me that look, man. You know what I'm talking about: Quirks! With all this physical exercise you're doing, I'm guessing you have a pretty powerful and flashy muscle-based Quirk or something. As for me," He let Izuku watch as he hardened the skin on his hand. "All I have is this pretty bland Hardening Quirk."

 _Hardening isn't such a bland Quirk- he just needs to find out the right ways to use it, that's all. Oh wow, he actually looks really down about his Quirk. What could I say to cheer him up… Oh, I know! Practical applications!_ "You think that's bland?"

"Huh?" The teen looked at Izuku with confusion. "I mean, yeah, all I can do is make my skin harder. That's not special."

"Of course it's special! All Quirks can be flashy- you just have to find ways to make them flashy. Take the Pro Hero Edgeshot, for example. His Quirk, Foldabody, is simple- he can make his body thinner, like paper. Despite its simplicity, he can use it an a number of ways to defeat and capture villains in a flashy manner. Your Hardening is as simple as Foldabody, but you can do cool things like protect yourself from a great fall or stand between civilians and the line of fire, acting as a human shield. That second one will definitely get you some attention. If you can get your Quirk to a strong-enough level, you'll make a great pro."

"Pfft, yeah right." The spike-toothed teen bit back an embarrassed blush. "You're only saying that because your Quirk is probably really flashy."

 _He's not as sad about it, but he's still moping a bit. What else could I do? … Oh, now that I think about, lots of people at school often tell themselves 'at least I'm not born a Deku' when their Quirks get insulted by someone like Kacchan. This will probably hurt me on the inside a bit, but whatever; besides, don't comedians self-depreciate all the time? Actually, rather than make him pity a Me, a single Quirkless person, I'll have him root for both of us._ "Nope."

"Alright then, show me your 'not really flashy' Quirk. I'll judge if it's flashy or not."

"I can't; I don't have a Quirk." As Izuku said those words, Kirishima felt time stop for a moment. He honestly couldn't believe it; this person, in front of him, who has just been pushing himself doing some training to get into U.A. High's Department of Heroics, had just told him he was Quirkless.

"Quit pulling my leg." Izuku's face turned serious.

"I'm not joking. I _am_ Quirkless. I have that extra pinky toe. If anything's bland, it's me."

The Hardening user instead studied Izuku's face. Kirishima felt slightly uncomfortable at how honest the face before him was. Quirklessness was a rarity that affected only 20% of the world. That's admittedly a large number, sure, but to just come across someone like that on a beach was still a surprise and shock. Not to mention the social stigma against Quirkless people, who are often derided for not having any individuality; Kirishima didn't believe there was anyone who would willingly refer to themselves as actually Quirkless unless they were. Not only did Izuku tell him, but he said so without any sort of hesitation; he said it without any sort of emotion to hide whatever thoughts swam in his head.

"Well, either I'm Quirkless or just a very late bloomer. But, I've been alive for 14 years and never manifested a Quirk, so I'm pretty sure I'm Quirkless."

"Uh, ok. Let's say I do believe you're calling yourself… Quirkless. Why go for the Hero course, then? Can't you be a police officer or something?" Kirishima missed how All Might hissed at hearing the suggestion. Meanwhile, Izuku's face contorted from seriousness to a slight, and sad, smile.

"It's simple; as a Hero, I can help more people. I'd have wider jurisdiction than a police officer."

"Yeah, but-"

"And besides, even though society says I can't be a Hero, I don't really care. I'll tackle the challenge with my own strength, willpower, and a bit of martial arts skills. I wouldn't be the first to go down the path of 'A Quirkless Hero' anyway- there was a Hero named Dragon Jumpsuit who attempted the same thing, and succeeded to fame. Granted, that was a time when the majority of people in the world were Quirkless, but whatever. I'll still try; just like Dragon Jumpsuit, I have the Heart, Hard Work, and Discipline to go down the long, thorny road." Izuku gave his peer a toothy grin. "Of course, if it does turn out I'm just an extremely late bloomer, I won't refuse a Quirk!"

"You… you've lived a life that was undoubtedly hard… and you're prepared to keep on living that life, no, an even harder one. And you're going forward without fear?"

"Nope; only Heart, Hard Work, Discipline, and the strong desire to save anyone and everyone I can."

"That's… that's… THAT'S SO MANLY!" Kirishima's outburst surprised Izuku, who watched as the teen let loose tears- apparently, he was overwhelmed by Izuku's statement. " As my favorite hero, Crimson Riot, said, 'As long as you've got a manly heart, then Quirks don't count for nothing!' Believe me when I say this, Midoriya- you have a manly heart, man!"

* * *

 **A/N: "I'll admit, it was decent until that last bit."**

 **"Ah, come one, it's perfect! It's just two manly dudes talking to each other. There ain't much else."**

 **"No, the dialogue between Red and Green sucks near the end. It's a fucking mess, especially Midoriya's thoughts and words, and you know it!"**

 **"Well screw you, I'm keeping it as-is!"**

 **"For that rubbish, you deserve to lose half your followers."**

 **... Aww man.**

 **Viate: Yeah, upon reading the summary and first chapter, it does kinda seem like it. Part of Izuku's dialogue near the end also seems like it, now that I'm taking a good read over it. Still, I'm pretty happy you're fine with what I have so far. You might have to wait a bit longer for any sort of action, though (seriously FF, separate Action from Adventure already!). I'm thinking, maybe, 1 or 2 chapters, depending on some circumstances.**

 **StandUp (Guest): Well, I guess he's no longer 'Green Naruto', then. That makes Tenya Lida a speedy Neji and Ochako Uraraka a peppy Tenten, I guess. Hmm... I can't think of a Hinata... largely because I don't wanna write any romantic subplot or anything.**

 **Now, fun fact, I originally based this off a plot bunny where Deku was the same except he had Kacchan's hotheadedness and pride- this story came about after I decided to just make him calmer.**

 **And, to the rest of the reviewers, thanks for your kind words!**

 **Remember to leave a review, and see you guys on the next chapter!**


	4. Tokusatsu

_**A/N: I wanted to publish a chapter before this detailing how Izuku met and befriended another UA student before the events of this chapter, but a lot of things caused me to just scrap and skip that chapter entirely. So instead, you have this piece of crap. Enjoy!**_

* * *

" **Young Midoriya,** " Began All Might, still in his "Yoshimura Yami" disguise, as he pulled up to the front of the green teen's apartment. They had just come from dropping Kirishima off at his general neighborhood, and it was later than when they regularly arrived at the Midoriya residence. Well, it was later than when they started- when Kirishima joined their training sessions around a month ago, the schedule had to be changed to accomodate the hardening teen, who had quickly struck up a friendship with Izuku over the past month.

Regardless, it was now two months since All Might took Izuku under his wing, and the young one had grown noticeably. Before he started, he was lean and fit from regular exercise, with a strong mind tempered by his meditation and school; now, having had to fit in a more intense workout into his daily life, his body was more muscular- noticeably so, but not to ludicrous levels for someone that was only 14- and his mind was sharper.

" **You've grown well. At first, I was on the fence about whether you were a suitable container; now, you are most definitely capable of harnessing One For All.** " Shifting his green wig to the side, he plucked a hair from his head. " **I do apologize, Young Midoriya, as I wanted something somewhat more ceremonial after you finally and absolutely earned this power. However, I am afraid I have something planned for tomorrow until almost evening, and I wouldn't want to make your mother worry. So I'll make this quick- One For All is passed down through a person's will and their DNA. That means, Young Midoriya, that I want you to** _ **eat this hair**_ **.** " As the hero presented the plucked strand to the teen, a face of disgust worked its way onto Izuku's face.

With a resigned look, the teen grabbed it and forced it down his throat. "Ugh… now what, All Might? Anything else? I mean, I don't really feel any different now…"

" **Well, of course! Quirks may develop overnight, but digestion takes time, especially so for things made of keratin like hair!** "

"Digest? But hair isn-"

" **A unique side effect of One For All is that all parts of the wielder's body become digestible, likely to make it easier to pass on DNA. Ah- before I forget, when you actively use One For All, don't forget to clench your buttocks and yell the word 'smash' from the bottom of your heart. Now, go inside, eat a nice Friday night dinner, and rest up! I'll be having a talk with your mother about monitoring you and Kirishima tomorrow for a while, so go!** "

Heeding his mentor's words, Izuku went inside and greeted his mother before going through the last few hours of his day. Later, while he lay in bed and tried to go to sleep, Izuku held his hand in front of his face. He thought he could barely feel it- traces of a foreign energy coursing through his veins, pulsing with vigor and power stockpiled over generations. He thought he could hear the voices of the previous wielders whispering in his ear.

Eventually he decided that he needed to sleep, and fell into slumber while listening to phantasmal sounds.

* * *

The next morning, as he and Kirishima were at the beach with their mother watching over them, Izuku couldn't help but feel slight disappointment. He expected something to happen, something matching the awesome power of One For All, like a door that was broken off its hinges and thrown a block away due to accidentally opening it with too much force. Instead, he felt nothing. Nadda. Bupkis. Even now, as he exerted himself by piling trash onto the back of All Might's pickup while his mom sat on a bench near it offering an encouraging smile to him and Kirishima, he felt nothing. He couldn't even hear the grumbling of power or the whispers of previous wielders like he did last night. It was mildly irritating, but since he was focusing on developing his body more- All Might stated to him before that One For All grows as the user's base ability grows- he was distracted enough to not be too irritated.

Still, he felt that tingling feeling around the nape of his neck, as if something explosive was about to happen.

"Ah, Inko, is that you?"

"Ah, Mitsuki! It's been a while since we last talked! And it's… nice… to see you too… Katsuki."

Oh, how Izuku hated that feeling sometimes. Sparing only a small glance at the bench his mother sat at, Izuku saw his no-longer-childhood-friend Katsuki Bakugou, scowling at the world like he always did. Next to him, looking almost like an identical twin were it not for the height difference, the kinder face with the wider smile, and the medium-sized pair of organs that identified her as female, was Katsuki's mother Mitsuki Bakugou.

As the two women began to talk to each other- Izuku noticed every now and then his mother shot Bakugou dirty looks while Bakugou's mother sent sad ones to Inko and Katsuki- the green teen approached the pickup with a large kitchen sink in hand. The thumping of feet on the stairs that led from the sandy beach to where cars parked drew the attention, annoyance, and anger of Katsuki Bakugou as well as the semi-excited greeting of Sparky-Sparky-Boom-Boy's mommy.

"Izuku! How wonderful to see you again!" He placed the sink in the truck before he addressed the Bakugou family matriarch.

"Hello, Aunt Mitsuki. It's been a while."

"That's an understatement. So, what have- scratch that, what _are_ you up to?" She eyed the pile on the back of the truck until Katsuki growled roughly.

"Who the hell cares what the nerd's up to! I just want to continue this shitty jog, you old hag." As the two members of the Bakugou family began a heated quarrel, Izuku stared at them blankly. After contemplating what it was that he wanted to say, he said one sentence that cut through the air like a dagger.

"I'm training to get into U.A."

Everybody's faces were different. Izuku's face was calm, but hid resoluteness at the impending explosion. Inko Midoriya stared at her son with nothing but pride. The female-adult version of Bakugou gave him an impressed look. Kirishima, who had just run up to the truck to deposit a load, was confused at what was going on.

The younger Bakugou just had a wide-eyed, shell shocked expression on his face. Slowly, ever so slowly, it contorted into a face of malicious anger. Sparked erupted from his hands.

As he was about to launch into a tirade- no doubt to lambast Izuku's decision to "screw over his plan of being the only one from their school to be accepted into UA" as well as call attention to his Quirklessness again, which Izuku would counter with a speech on determination and how he'll be a better Hero than Katsuki- a large explosion rocked the waters of Dagobah Beach, sending sand and water sky-high.

"Dafuq was that‽"

 _That_ was a figure that stood in the shallow waters of the trash-strewn beach. It was both monstrous and comical, a turtle-like creature that wouldn't look out of place in a children's live-action superhero show. The head was angular and arrow-shaped, googly-eyed, with a ridge of spikes running down the center that started from the forehead down the back of the neck and a lower jaw sporting two short, but menacing, tusks. The arms and legs were muscular, with strong but blunt claws. The turtle shell was large with a serrated edge and wicked spines; because it kept the figure hunched, you wouldn't see that, under the shell, the being had a well-built body and core as well.

" **Gahahaha! Sorry, kiddos, but I'm not a** _ **that**_ **. I am Gamegamera! I had planned to make my villainous debut by attacking something more populated, but some brats and their mothers will be good for attracting heroes too, gehehehe!** "

With frightening speed, he sprinted across the sands and leapt up to the truck. Izuku barely had enough time to dodge into the junk pile before the villain slashed at him with a claw, tearing his shirt.

"Izuku!"

"Mom, you and Aunt Mitsuki find a place to hide!"

" **As if I'll let them!** " As the villain prepared to slash at the two mothers, the younger Bakugou placed himself between the pursuer and the retreating party, right arm outstretched and his left arm bracing it. With a grunt, he let loose a strong explosion that, despite launching him into the air, inflicted minimal damage to the villain. With a backflip, he landed onto the beach, his odd eyes unreadable as he stared at the blasting blonde.

"Hey," Katsuki snarled as he turned to face Izuku. "Get the fuck outta here, dammit! I don't need to fight this guy and make sure you don't get your ass killed in the crossfire, assrag!"

"Kacchan, he attacked me first," After searching around the junk in the truck, he found a pair of solid metal rods slightly longer than his forearm. _Until I can actually fire off One For All properly, I'll stick to these to supplement my physical abilities_. "I think I have a right to self-defense." Jumping off the back of the trunk, he went next to Kacchan and got into a fighting stance, the rods in hand. "Besides, we-"

"DON'T THINK YOU CAN STAND SHOULDER-TO-SHOULDER WITH ME, ASSWIPE!"

"... We're all that's here to stall this guy. You, me, and Kirishima over there." After taking a small step back- the situation was serious, so he'd concede without argument for now- he nodded his head to the Hardening user that had taken up a boxing stance next to the baron of explosions. However, unlike Izuku, who stood firm and tall, Kirishima was slightly slouched and shaking.

"Ha! Sure. A Quirkless idiot and a guy that's quaking in his boots. This is a fucking shitty team, Deku! I definitely don't need your help if it's gonna be like that, dumbfuck!"

"Who said it was a team to help you beat that guy? All I said is that we're all that's here to stall this guy until the Pros answer our mom's calls. If anything, it's going to be a contest between the two of us to see who hurts him the most. That being said…" Without another word, Izuku bounded down the stairs to the beach and headed straight to where Gamegamera was standing.

"B-b-b-BASTARD! Get back here, I TOLD YOU NOT GET IN THE WAY OF THE FIGHT!" With a burst of explosive energy, the explosive teen rocketed forwards towards the villain.

"Oh man…" Kirishima feared for his life that, somehow, the villain would get through his Hardening and kill him. That being said, he felt a stronger fear for Izuku. His friend almost died were it not for a quick dodge, while he didn't even try to react; that's not manly at all. So, without much noise, he hardened his entire body and ran into the fray after the two boys.

Managing to reach their target first, Izuku rolled away from several swipes before springing toward his opponent's head and swinging a fist at it- an ineffective attack that elicited no reaction from his opponent- before planting a foot on Gamegamera's chest, throwing himself out of the way of another swipe. Izuku prepared himself as the terrapin tried to tackle him, but he was rudely shoved aside by Bakugou as he fired another explosive shot.

The monster tanked the hit and grabbed the explosive teen by the face. Showing no weakness, Bakugou launched a series of explosions before he was punched in the gut and kicked away. As he was sent flying, Izuku dashed past him and swung a rod at Gamegamera's ankles. Hopping above the metal, the villain placed a single hand onto the sand and swung both legs at the green teen. Izuku dodged downwards to avoid the attack and countered by striking the handstanding hand with his foot. His attack didn't even budge the hand; realizing he was in a bad spot, Izuku rolled away before the turtle pulled up his hand and fell to the sand.

 _I have no idea how much he weighs, but that might have broken my leg!_ As the reptilian stood up, a Hardened Kirishima crashed into him from behind; it didn't jostle the villain, and he countered with a swift backhand that caught Kirishima in the cheek and sent him sprawling. _This is most definitely no joke- I can't afford a lapse in concentration, nor can I just rush in._ From where he was, Izuku took a more defensive stance, with the rods crossed over his chest and putting weight on his back foot.

As the villain calmly approached him, Izuku suddenly ducked downwards as Bakugou rocketed forwards from behind him, palms blasting as he spun around and brought his heel down on Gamegamera. While the initial hit was blocked, Kacchan followed it up by using the force of the kick and his explosions to bring himself around to his opponent's back before unleashing a strong, point-blank explosion to the back of the head.

His opponent shot back by smashing the back of his head into Bakugou's, giving the teen a nosebleed. Seeing a great opportunity, Izuku motioned to Kirishima- who was positioned behind the terrapin- and the two rushed him with a flurry of punches and baton swings. After tanking a few of their strikes, the villain started to parry them both. _Strong, sturdy, and speedy. Damn_. After a second, he flexed his arms outward, causing both teens to become unbalanced before he hit them both with his elbows.

While Izuku received a faceful of seawater, Kirishima bounced off a broken-down fridge. Looking at the junk around him, and looking at how Midoriya used his weaponry, he had an idea. As he got to work, Bakugou launched another attack only to get blown back to where Kirishima was. Seeing how Bakugou could generate large levels of force through his explosions, the Hardener abandoned his initial idea of fortifying his fists with steel-covered Hardening.

"Hey, you can blow things up, right?" He patted a rusty microwave. "Think you could explode stuff in that guy's direction?" At first, the Explosioner looked at him with contempt but his face soon twisted into a wide smile.

All the while, Izuku was doing his best to dodge and parry Gamegamera's flurry of attacks, knowing full well that getting hit would likely cripple him. He attempted to attack every now and then, mainly with strikes from his rods in order to deal actual damage since his arms and legs were apparently not strong enough, but he could not find the opportunity to actually hit the reptile back. Really, the only damage he was doing was to the forearms and the shins, and they weren't even that damaged; really the only thing Izuku's been doing is slowly shave off scales.

Luckily for him, a microwave crashed into the back of his opponent's head. While his opponent took some time to look at what was behind him, the martial artist took the chance and hit with a precise attack aimed at the side of the knee joint. Another projectile was launched, and another strike was made. This process continued, with Gamegamera occasionally managing to catch the junk and throw it back and occasionally managing to send Izuku sprawling away so he could more safely approach the two cannoneers. But they kept up their assault, even though all they were doing was keeping the villain glued to a single spot without much damage.

All through this, Izuku had one thought: _Okay, where are the Pros? Where's the police? Mom and Aunt Mitsuki should have had them here by now. We can't stall a guy like this for all eternity! We're getting tired- my body's are heavy, I can see Kacchan shaking, and Kirishima's looking less rugged. Someone, come, help!_

"Attention! This is the police!" All eyes locked on to a squadron of men and women in blue uniforms on the road just beyond the beach. With them was a throng of civilians, with the mothers of Izuku and Katsuki at the front. An officer with the head of a great horned owl- a mutation Quirk most likely- held a megaphone in his feathery hand. "You there, in the middle! Stand down or we will use force to make you stand down." While the three teens were relieved, the terrapin began to giggle, then chortle, then have an outburst of laughter.

" **Gahahahaha! Why should I stand down? I see no Pro Heroes at the scene. What I do see are civilians, which I will now proceed to use as pawns to gain more notoriety!** " With this roar, he leapt forward. To everyone around, time slowed down as the villain moved through the air. Police were getting ready to fire their guns, and many civilians were about to turn tail and run. However, Izuku saw none of that. He didn't see how Kirishima quavered nor how Bakugou watched with shock. Instead, he took in the sight of his own mother, standing there eyes wide and horrified. She was frozen with fear, directly in the villain's line of rampage, and unable to move aside.

Izuku felt a torrent of energy explode within him. He felt it flow down his left leg, which rocketed him off the sand towards the villain. He felt it in his right leg, which stopped his movement and placed him directly in front of the advancing villain. He felt it in his core, his heart, as the energy traveled from his center to the tips of his right hand, clenched into a fist. He felt it as his buttocks clenched and as his heart bellowed with the unbelievable power of One For All.

"SMASH!"

* * *

" **HAHAHAHA! Ah, that go-getter fanboy of mine certainly is a strong one alright,** " came a voice from a male body drifting in the waters off Dagobah beach. He felt content to just lie on top of the water, which was still reeling from the shock of someone using a powerful Quirk for the first time in their life. " **I wasn't sure if this set-up would still work when that other young one and his mother came, but it worked out all right. Now then,** " with a small grunt, All Might, wearing a turtle costume and weighed down by a top-grade power dampener exoskeleton, removed the mask of Gamegamera from his face. " **Whew, it was getting stuffy in there.** " He tossed aside the mask, allowing it to float on the water. " **That'll make a nice present for the media. HA HA HA H- ghack! I should best get to the secluded shore me and Detective Tsukauchi planned to meet in before I hit my limit for today!** "

As he swam towards his meeting point, All Might couldn't shake the smile off his face. Had he left his pupil behind, knowing his arm and legs would be busted, not ready to face the tears of a mother both overjoyed and fearing at the same time, nor the media? Sure. But he also left his pupil behind, knowing that he'd left behind the seeds to becoming a great symbol for peace.

There was just one problem: how was All Might going to tell Izuku what he did?

* * *

 **A/N: "... Y'know, I can't actually criticize this too much except for the too-short fight scene, which was both too short and not very written well."**

 **"I'll take the fact you don't have much to criticize as a compliment and ignore that last part, because I thought it was a fun one!"**

 **"Why am I not surprised you can't see through your own mucky writing. It's a wonder we have people who legitimately enjoy reading this junk."**

 **... That's sadly true.**

 **For those curious folks out there, the Gamegamera suit was inspired by the turtle-like kaiju Gamera, created by Daiei Films (now owned by the Kadokawa Corporation) to rival Toho's Godzilla.**

 **See you guys next time, bye!**


	5. Conversations

After the incident with the villain- really All Might in disguise- Izuku had to be hospitalized. After enduring a terrible surgery to fix his shattered arm and legs, he was put in his own little recovery room. He was currently surrounded by his mom, Kirishima, and the Bakugou family- mom, son, and the dad Masaru- while one of the surgeons- a Dr. Higashikata- used his Quirk to encase the teen's arms and legs in colorless crystals.

"And they come off in about 4 weeks?"

"Well, the ones around your arm, at least. The ones around your legs will take around 3 weeks to heal, since they weren't busted as badly. Neither should be too terrible; spring vacation is around the corner, so you should still be able to attend school without much delay, two weeks at most, when we release you after your leg crystals fall off.. You'd probably just have trouble doing assignments if you're right-handed. Now, imagine if you had to go through the whole 15-week, 16-week healing process; that normally doesn't sound too good for middle-schoolers trying to get into highschool.

Now, most doctors would advise against you doing any strenuous physical activity with those broken limbs of yours, but since they're covered in the healing crystals of my 'Crazy Diamond' Quirk, you wouldn't be able to do that anyway." He turned to face the rest of the group. "Ok then, I've already talked to you, Ms. Midoriya, about everything you and your boy need to know. I'll just head out for a bit to file some of these forms you signed. I'll send a nurse when visiting hours are over."

"Oh, thank you and your team so much, Doctor! I was so afraid when I saw that he was just lying there with his arm and legs like the way they were and the blood and just how raw the skin looked and-"

"We appreciate it, and you're welcome, Ms. Midoriya. Remember to fill out that form detailing the changes in your son's Quirk- or, in his case, detailing the emergence of his Quirk. 14 years and absolutely no sign of it… Well, I have to go file these now. Bye." As the doctor left the room, the air was silent. So many different emotions were racing through the occupants- pride, jealousy, relief, ecstasy, uncertainty, irritation, fear, hope. They simply couldn't talk, because they couldn't put their thoughts together at the moment.

Izuku broke the silence first.

"So I… I have a Quirk now." The dam broke, and the floodwaters flowed freely. Inko Midoriya's tears flooded the carpets, while Katsuki Bakugou's heat evaporated them just as quickly; the rest of the room was in the middle, but they all leaned towards the mother Midoriya.

"Yes… Yes, you did! Oh Izuku, my child!" She embraced her son's undamaged left upper body. "I just.. Just… when the doctor told me all those years ago that you'd never have a Quirk and then when I couldn't tell you you could follow your heroic dream and then you'd come home with all these bruises and tear streaks but you wouldn't tell me what happened and no one could tell me why and… and… and…" The woman couldn't quite get her words across as her tears and crying were making speech difficult, but before her old friend Mitsuki could attempt to help her she caught herself.

"Then you went down a different road. You toughened yourself up, both physically and mentally, and I was happy when you started coming home with less bruises, but I was so uncertain. Your face wasn't as happy as before, it was too serious for someone your age. I should have been happy that you found a path that you thought could help you become a Hero. But, again, I couldn't be certain for your future. I should have offered more encouragement, I should have found you help; instead you shouldered on alone, with the most I could provide being a house and food and letting you be you, but I couldn't help after all that.

"But now, you have something to help you with your dream far more than I ever could. I just- I can't… I'm sorry Izuku, honey, for not helping you on your dream!" At this sad declaration of fault and apology, the room felt choked. Kirishima, a stickler for owning up to one's mistakes, let his tears flow freely at the scene. Mitsuki was wiping the tears from her eyes while her husband held her gently. Katsuki wasn't crying, but the heat and annoyance he felt about the whole situation was notably cooler and more controlled.

"It's okay mom… You don't have to say anything else. Because, you know, you're my mom. Even if you say you haven't really been there for me, you have. You supported me getting trained by someone you saw as a complete stranger, you let me go out and do my workouts, you give me warm food to eat when I'm done with everything. You can't say you haven't done anything for me, mom, because you have. And that's part of why I love you, mom!"

* * *

"So, that entire time, All Might, _you_ were Gamegamera?" A few days had passed since Izuku had been hospitalized, and he was alone for most of those days. His mom visited him every night when she got off from work, but visiting hours were far too short. Kacchan was usually sent to the hospital with handouts from class, but he always managed to make a nurse give them to Izuku instead. Meanwhile, Kirishima was out training with All Might, and he barely had enough time to keep that up and visit the green-haired teen; Izuku eventually convinced the Hardener to focus more on his UA entrance exam training than visiting him.

It's not like Izuku couldn't find ways to waste time while resting. He had those class handouts, and he managed to do a sizeable amount of meditation each day, so at least he was keeping his mind and spirit sharp.

Still, it was a pleasant surprise when All Might managed to take time off from his schedule to visit him. When he opened with how he and a police detective came up with the idea to become Gamegamera, though, that wasn't quite as pleasurable.

" **Ah, I see how irritated that makes you feel. However, Young Midoriya, you must understand- in order for Quirks to activate, there have to be certain triggers, events that can unlock usage of a Quirk for future use.** "

"Ah, an activation condition!"

" **That's right! For some, fetal development activates a Quirk, so that someone can use their Quirk at birth. For most, the body must endure various stressors, such as temperature or force, in order to use their Quirk. One For All falls into that broad second category.** "

"The thought of something like that slipped my mind. Anyways, now that I've activated One For All for the first time, I should probably find a way to use it in the future without breaking my bones."

" **That, Young Midoriya, requires time and training. You simply can't use 100 percent of One For All without breaking your bones each time, at least for some time after your first use. You have to work up to that 100 percent by first getting used to lower percents.** "

"Like working your way from being able to comfortably lift 5 kgs to comfortably lifting 100 kgs."

" **That's an excellent comparison! And, it might be appropriate. I can't tell without seeing you in action some more, but you seem to be capable of harnessing… maybe… 4 or 5 percent.** "

"4 or 5, huh? Considering the how you can easily change the weather with One For All- and I'm not even sure if that was your 100 percent at the time- that's quite the power for just a beginner's course. That aside, All Might Sir, when you say you mean to see me in action.."

" **Yes, I'll have you use your Quirk. To be more accurate, you'll have to use it against me! You shouldn't have problems with that- after all, while your power may be as strong as mine, I'm far tougher than you! Not only that, but I know someone that would be willing to help out; she has a healing Quirk that can heal fatal wounds within minutes, meaning you wouldn't have to spend long amounts of time in a hospital bed like you are now. If you want, we can even include Young Kirishima and that blonde acquaintance of yours.** "

"Yeah… yeah… and not only can we train me, but we can also train Kirishima and Kacchan- if he accepts, at least. He's a stubborn sort of guy that doesn't think too highly of me, but his Quirk is strong and his combat sense is amazing. I really want to see him improve!" _In more ways than physically, at least…_

" **Excellent, Young Midoriya! Having an extra training partner or two will most definitely help you become a great Hero! I know you can do it!** "

 _You can do it… "dekiru" here in Japan, huh?_

* * *

"Remarkable… You're healing faster than I thought!" It had been about a week since Izuku was hospitalized, and he was currently being checked over by Dr. Higashikata. He pointed at the crystals on his legs, which were no longer colorless and had red specks. "I already explained how the amount of red specks shows how complete your healing is, with completely red crystals indicating complete recovery. Now, considering your legs would have needed 3 weeks to heal with my crystals, red should cover a third of each individual piece. However, they're almost half red!"

"Really? Don't healthier people recover faster?"

"Your health was already taken into account when I estimated how long you would take to heal, along with what your mother said about your eating and resting habits. Maybe your Quirk isn't just simple destructive force, huh?" Taking a glance at his watch, the doctor quickly recorded Izuku's current state of health on a clipboard he had with him. "I'll need to go file this information. Meanwhile, I suggest you take a deeper look at your own Quirk beyond the destructive potential."

As the doctor exited, Izuku began to contemplate what the doctor was saying about One For All. As All Might explained it, it's the crystallization of physical power that gets passed from holder to holder and increased by each one. Physical power… physical ability… that would normally include health and fitness, wouldn't it? No, that couldn't be it, that would mean he'd get buff like All Might did when he used his power, right? From what he could barely remember, rather than more muscle mass Izuku had sparks of green energy around his legs and arm. Energy… energy…

He was shaken from his thoughts when the door was slammed open. The person opening the door was the rowdy and arrogant king of explosions, Katsuki Bakugou. In his arms were some papers; they were likely the handouts from that day's class. When he noticed that Izuku was looking at him, he growled in agitation.

"Damn nurses not being damn available when I need them to deliver this damn shit to your damn room… had to deliver this shit myself, dammit. Here's the damn notes and shit from today's class." He unceremoniously set them down on a table near Izuku's bed. "I'm going home now."

As he turned to leave, a hand gripped at the bottom of his shirt. Feeling it tug, he glared at the green-haired teen currently latching onto his shirt. A fire of defiance and determination was in his eyes.

"Sorry, Kacchan, but you and I need to have a talk." The other teen disdainfully regarded it for a moment.

"What makes you think we need a fucking heart-to-heart? I don't have anything to say to you, you damn nerd."

"Really? Are you sure you don't have anything to say about me receiving a Quirk, and about how I'm no longer a useless, Quirkless loser that can't defend himself against people like you and your assaults and words?"

"Exactly!" He shrugged off the martial artist's hand and stood tall to glare down on him. "I don't have anything to say to you. Why do you want me to say anything to you anyways, huh? That's all I've been doing to you since day one- roaring in your face about how much of a shitstain you are, Quirkless trash!"

"Give yourself the credit you deserve, Kacchan- it wasn't just verbal. Seriously, how many times have you bashed your knee into my head? How many bruises and scorch marks did I get from you over all these years, Kacchan? Most of those were from fights where I could actually fight back, sure, but then remember those early days before I had enough skill and strength to hold my own. And before you say anything else, I'm not Quirkless anymore." He emphasized his point by wiggling his crystalized right arm.

"Well you might as well be Quirkless, you blew up your own fucking limbs! Speaking of what's your own damn fault, it's your own damn fault for getting beaten to a pulp! You were always trying- and _failing_ \- to play hero, from the playground all the way until now. Always trying to save people, whether we were just playing rough or we just tripped over and fell, always putting on that damned worried face for people. Then there's that belief of yours about your useless martial arts, thinking you could stand on the same stage as everyone else by using it to make up for your Quirkless ass. Well, I still beat your ass to the concrete everytime; everytime, _I_ won, not you!"

"You know, Kacchan, you're only half right about why I wanted to take up fighting. Part of it was to not fall behind everyone else, sure, but a big chunk of it was so I could have a shot at becoming a Hero. But there was also a third reason; I just wanted you to stop hitting me, Kacchan, to stop bringing me pain. I was content and happy to simply be part of your squad, and I thought that if I could get you and everyone else to stop beating me up things could go back a little bit to what they were. I mean, you liked people who were strong enough to hold their own, right? But you wouldn't let up, you just wouldn't. Then I thought to myself, maybe I couldn't get you to be friendly again but I could at least get you off my case, right? Wrong- I just became a more prominent target since I could fight back." The explosive teen snorted.

"As if your flailing around could even be called 'fighting'."

"You only say that because you knew how to efficiently use your Quirk. I could handle your tenacity and combat ability. Not your Quirk- that put us on different stages. I wonder to myself sometimes, could I actually beat Kacchan in a fight if we were both Quirkless? Honestly, the question shouldn't have been about you being Quirkless like me, but me having a Quirk like you. See, that punch I did? That was a full power attack that I can't control just yet. But think about what it would be like if I could control that power. Imagine if I could go all the way to 100 percent without breaking my body in the process; I could most definitely outrank you, Kacchan."

Bakugou's eyes flashed dangerously as he bared his teeth at Izuku. His palms let loose a chain of intimidating explosions. An oppressive aura of anger filled the air, and it looked like Bakugou was trying his best to not lay a hand on his hospitalized peer.

" _What did you just say?_ "

"Oh please, working my way up to the magical 100 percent might take years- just like how it took years before our fights started to get more even. But no matter what, they would never be completely 50/50. Now, I have a chance to make it even, to stand on the same stage as you whether you like it or not."

"You are getting _real fucking cocky,_ aren't you _,_ _ **Deku**_ _?_ "

"That name's real funny to me right now, Kacchan. I mean, we both know you gave me that nickname because it's short for 'defenseless Izuku.' But you know what else it could be short for? Dekiru, or 'you can do it.' As in, I can do it. I can do whatever I put my mind to."

"That includes failing at everything and falling short of everyone!"

"That also includes beating you and becoming the Number 1 Hero. Mark my words, Kacchan, I'm going to close the gap between us and go beyond you." The explosive teen, rather than immediately burst into rage, actually started to let his anger simmer for once. He thought about the martial artist's words and knew they held some truth- he would continue to improve and master his newly-attained Quirk, and one day he might be able to outstrip Bakugou in terms of explosive power. Coupled with his combat abilities, Bakugou knew Izuku could leave him in the dust.

But all of that was only if he didn't try his own hardest to widen the gap Izuku was trying to close.

"Alright, Deku. I'll take you declaration of war and blow it up in your face! You're not the only one that can grow and improve, you know. I'm gonna train so fucking hard that you'll never catch up to me- just WATCH ME!" With those last two words, he exited the recovery room, slamming the door in the process.

With that out of the way, Izuku relaxed. He knew he'd never be as a close a friend to Kacchan as he used to be- but he could at least mold himself and Kacchan to becoming proper rivals in the future rather than enemies on the same side. He smiled to himself, wondering what types of intense training his not-friend would put himself through…

 _Ack, I forgot to ask him if he wanted to join the training sessions at the beach!_

* * *

 **Omake: Izuku's Dreams 1**

 **What Izuku was dreaming of the first night he spent in the hospital…**

A peaceful city and it's citizens were being attacked by a giant evil turtle and a horde of clay-like infantry!

"Gahahaha! I, Gamegamera, one of the evil generals of the fallen dark lord, Devil the Evilness, am here to collect your frightened tears. So go on, pitiful people, cry for me and my master so that I may re-energize him with your tears! Gahahaha!"

Suddenly, three voices cry out in defiance.

" **Halt, monster!** "

Confused, Gamegamera turns around to see a trio of teenagers- one dressed in green street clothes, one in red, and the other in orange- were heading towards him while riding similarly-colored motorcycles.

" **Let's go! MORPH!** "

Immediately, all three were surrounded by a blinding light. Almost instantaneously, all three teens were no longer in their civilian attire but now in skintight battle-ready color-coded jumpsuits and cool helmets. They were also doing superhero poses.

"Strong and manly, Kamen Red!"

"Here comes the boom, Kamen Orange!"

"The spirit to overcome any obstacle, Kamen Green!"

" **Together we are the Kamen Rangers!** "

"The kamen Rangers, the sworn enemies of my master and the ones that felled some of my other fellow generals! This is perfect! Clay soldiers, attack!"

Despite getting bum-rushed, the three heroes fought through the horde and did great battle with Gamegamera, who was now on his last legs.

"Ok guys, it's time we finish this!"

"Yeah!"

"Let's kill'em!"

With a mighty battlecry, the trio leaped into the air and cocked their fists back.

" **Ranger… SMASH!** "

Suddenly, they threw their fists forwards, and they flew like rockets in Gamegamera's direction fist-first. A light flashed brightly, and they soon ended up behind Gamegamera. After a second of standing and posing, the turtle blew up.

"NOOOO! MASTER!"

" **Yeah, alright! The day is saved again thanks to us, the Kamen Rangers! Hiyaah!"** they posed right before a trio of explosions- red, orange, and green- occured behind them.

Izuku then woke up because Kacchan and his mother were having an explosive argument right next to his bed.

* * *

 **A/N: "I gotta say, everything was done adequately, but the thing with All Might was subpar."**

 **"Are you giving me an actual compliment for once?"**

 **"Take it before I steal it away from you and leave you with nothing but a barrage of insults."**

 **We're taking it!**

 **In any case, Dr. Josuke Higashikata and his Quirk "Crazy Diamond" are shoutouts to Hirohiko Araki's series _JoJo's Bizarre Adventure_ , specifically Part 4 "Diamond is Unbreakable" starring a teen named Josuke Higashikata who has a thing called a Stand named Crazy Diamond (not: does not actually involve diamonds) that can return things to a previous state, which helps him to heal people from wounds and to turn a plate of spaghetti into it's previous ingredients. So yeah, IT'S A JOJO REFERENCE!**

 **See ya next time, ciao!**


	6. Pre-Test

As the sun set on Dagobah Beach, Kirishima and Izuku fell onto the sand, exhausted and sweaty. There was no danger of accidentally hitting their heads on sharp pieces of metal or something like that; they managed to clear the beach of debris just over 6 weeks ago (it was comically tearful when Izuku had to part with the exercise dummies he had set up for himself). It may have been unnecessary for Izuku to continue since he had already inherited One For All, but both teens felt good about themselves every time tons of metal were removed from the beach, so Izuku continued to clear the beach alongside his friend.

It was also a nice way to help Izuku get accustomed to lower levels of One For All; after several weeks of punching random things trying and trying to lower the power behind each attempt- izuku quickly became acquainted with Dr. Higashikata because of this- Izuku had found a comfortable 4.5% to work with at the start. As months passed and as junk cleared, the current wielder rose that level to a comfortable 7% just a few weeks ago after a spar with Kirishima.

With no more debris to carry around, the only other thing the boys could use the beach for were things like running, jumping, push-ups, sit-ups, or constant sparring. They ended up choosing the last option, as Kirishima needed help with developing his skin's hardness as well as some combat experience. Izuku was happy to help provide that experience, and made the most of it by practicing the various styles he'd learned over the years, from the unarmed to the armed.

Getting bruised every day was somewhat productive, but resting was important too, and every two days they'd meditate. Or, rather, Izuku would meditate; Kirishima would meditate for a while, struggle, squirm a bit, and then get lightly smacked on the head by All Might wearing the verdant pompadour wig that disguised him as Yoshimura Yami. It got to the point where Kirishima just stopped meditating and instead focused on studying for the written portion of U.A.'s entrance exam. It was fine for both torch-bearers of One For All.

But now, both were lying in the sand after one of their sparring sessions, very much so exhausted. Smiling proudly at them, All Might helped the both of them up.

" **Well fought, future Heroes! Young Kirishima, your moves looked sharp out there today, and it seemed you were able to maintain your rigidity for a few more seconds than last time. Meanwhile, Young Midoriya, your reflexes are faster and your activation looks faster. Both of you, well done on your improvements!** "

"G-go us…!"

"Th-thank you, Mr. Yami…" Letting the both of them lean on his shoulders, the walking skeleton started towards the pickup truck.

" **I bet the two of you feel sore. Well, you're about to have a longer rest than usual; the U.A. entrance exam is less than a week away. I think you both should rest your bodies until then.** "

"Wai-what?" Kirishima exclaimed, as he stared at the Hero with confusion. "Whaddya mean? You said it yourself- the exam is just days away! Me and Izuku should be amping up our training; we shouldn't just sit around and twiddle our thumbs!"

"Actually, he has a point, Kirishima. If we overwork ourselves right before the exam, our bodies will be too sore to do anything, and we'd screw up our chances of getting into U.A." All Might gave the aspiring Hero a thumbs up.

"I… okay, I see your point. Well, that kinda works out I guess. I think I need to study a bit more for the written exam portion, anyway- I keep on forgetting stuff about the Cobalt Hero Age."

"Really? Well, I think I can help you with that. I mean, when you think about the Cobalt Age, not everyone starts thinking about people like Taser Face and…" As the two teens conversed about a past Heroic Age, All Might smiled softly to himself. The two in front of him were shaping up to be excellent Heroes in training.

* * *

"Whew, that's pretty to look at." Izuku nodded in agreement as he and Kirishima stared at the site where the U.A. performance entrance exam would be taking place: U.A. High itself! As the two admired what they hoped to be their future hero academy, other hopeful students walked by them. One of them, rather than walk past, made his presence known.

"Oi! Deku, Hardhead!" Recognizing the sound of that voice, the two turned around and saw a mildly irritated Bakugou glaring back at them. "You're in the way! If you've got time to gawk, you have time to move your asses over to the side, away from the middle of the damn road."

"If we start an argument here, we'll both be late to the exam and we'll both ruin our chances of becoming Heroes, so I'll let you move past us without any sort of witty remark." With a huff, the living grenade passed by the two training buddies. Before he walked away, he turned to Izuku.

"I'm going to beat you and get the absolute number 1 score on this exam, Deku. That's a fact." With one final stare, he walked away from Izuku and Kirishima.

"He seems grumpy."

"Kacchan's always been a hot headed person. Coupled with his Quirk, and you have a really tenacious front-line fighter that could become an excellent Hero in the future. Honestly, his fire and desire to be stronger aren't something admonish him for, but to give him praise. Still, he is very egocentric and prideful, so there's that."

"Heh! He sounds like a pretty cool dude!" The hardener did a fist-pump. "He's definitely the type of guy I'd like to rival! But don't forget, Midoriya, the two of us have our own tenacity, right?"

"Mhm. Heart, Hard Work, and Discipline- we've got those in spades."

"We also have talk in spades. Come on, Midoriya, let's go take the exam before we get late." Without waiting for his friend's reply, the Hardener dashed forward. However, he didn't see the girl he was about to slam into as he did.

"Ah!"

"Hey!"

"Whoah!" As the girl almost fell over, Izuku poured a small amount of One For All into his legs, bursting forward and catching her bridal-style before she fell. Ignoring the blush on her face, as well as the blush on his own, he faced Kirishima. "Careful there, Kirishima. You almost made her fall- doing that before an exam is bad luck, you know."

"Whoops, sorry! I didn't mean to knock you over like that."

"It- it's okay," She motioned for Izuku to let her go, and she hopped onto her own two feet. "I mean, it's normal to be excited, or nervous, before an exam like this, right? Besides, I don't think you meant no real harm!" While she extended a hand towards Kirishima to introduce herself, Izuku took note of her features.

Her hair was chestnut brown, and in a chestnut-round bob, with two bangs that framed her round face. Her eyes were wide and expressive, and her cheeks had little pink marks on them- they were likely just blushes. The martial artist saw that her fingers had small pink things on them, likely something to let her use her Quirk.

"I'm Ochaco Uraraka."

"I'm Eijiro Kirishima! Again, I'm sorry for bumping into you."

"I'm Izuku Midoriya." The girl giggled a bit.

"It's nice to meet you two. And again, it's no trouble at all. In any case, I gotta go take my exam. Good luck to you guys!" With that, she sped off while waving at them. They waved back.

"Good luck to you as well! Come on Kirishima, let's go- and no running this time."

* * *

"Everybody say HEEEY!"

"Hey!" Looking around him, Izuku saw that he was the only student in the auditorium he was in that bothered to holler back, although it wasn't with as much enthusiasm as the person in front of the student body wanted.

After he and Kirishima showed up to an exam registration desk and were given examinee numbers, they went their separate ways to a massive auditorium in U.A. where other examinees were congregating- including Kacchan, who he had to sit next to. Facing the auditorium was a stage, and on that stage was a flashy Pro Hero that Izuku recognized as Present Mic. He was currently laughing.

"Ha ha! Other than Examinee 7413, you're all a pretty tough crowd! But that's cool, I get it, ya wanna get your practical exam done with, yeah? Well, I'm here to present to you all the rules and guidelines! Are. You. **Ready** ‽ _**YEEEEAAAHH!**_ " Again, the Pro Hero fished for an enthusiastic answer from the crowd of students; again, only Izuku answered the call, although it was quickly followed by Bakugou's cry of 'shut up'. Undaunted, the Pro continued to explain the rules of the practical exam.

"Okay, listeners! After this presentation, you'll each be assigned a testing location, a mock city! We'll make sure it separates you from anybody you already know. Then, you'll have 10 minutes to get as many points as you can! How do you earn points, you ask? Why, simple! At each location are robotic fake villains with point values from 1 to 3, each with a corresponding difficulty level. Use your Quirks, and any item you bring with you, to disable these villains and earn points! Of course, we don't want any anti-hero stuff going on, so don't actively attack your fellow examinees, got it‽"

As he talked, Izuku began to mumble to himself about strategies he could use in the exam as well as variables, ranging from location- outside mock buildings, inside mock buildings, on rooftops, on the sides, on slanted surface and on straight surfaces- to items in the field- rebars, rubble, scrap from the testing robots, pieces of the testing robots, remnants of the other examinees' Quirks.

"Excuse me, Present Mic, Sir! I would like to ask you a question!" Izuku's ramblings were cut short as someone in the audience stood up. From what he could see, he was a with short, neat, blue hair and rectangular glasses on a straight-laced face. He did not wait for the Hero to give consent before he started talking again. "On the handouts given to us students, there are four, not three, fake villains presented! We are here at U.A. to be molded into model heroes at Japan's top Hero academy; such a blatant error is highly unbecoming for an establishment such as this! And you!" He suddenly pointed towards Izuku. "You, the curly haired student! Cease your mumbling this instant- it's distracting! If you think of this exam as nothing but a game, then please leave immediately!" Not one to back down, Izuku stood up, and talked calmly.

"I apologize if my muttering was a distraction, but it helps me sift through the various strategies I have come up with for this exam, as well as taking many different factors into account. Since the exam takes place in a mock city, there are many things to be aware of- for example, while most of the testing robots might be outside, you cannot discount the ones that may be hiding inside mock buildings!" He paused for a bit as he heard a murmur of consensus among the throng of other students, as well some small amount of approval from the other teen. He continued speaking.

"Also, if you have any more questions following the one you just asked Present Mic, I suggest saving those for when he ends his presentation- he was still in the middle of telling us the rules of the exam before you interrupted him. For all we know, the fourth quote-unquote villain on the handout might simply represent fake civilians or some other obstacle that we must avoid or not harm. Besides, you never allowed Present Mic to confirm whether or not you could ask your question!" With that last sentence, the other examinee stood in shocked silence before bowing in apology to both Izuku and the Pro Hero.

"Alright, alright, alright, back in your seats! Thanks for that, both of you! In any case, Examinee 7413! Your hypothesis is mostly correct- the fourth testing robot isn't an enemy you can gain points from, but a wild, mobile stage hazard worth zero points! This guy's an obstacle that rampages in close proximity to any student, so keep your distance, got it?"

"I-I see. Thank you, sir, and once again I apologize for my interference!"

"No problem, Examinee 7111! In any case, that's all from me. Before I go, though, I'd like to present to my dear listeners our school's motto! You see, the great Napoleon Bonaparte once said that true heroism consists in being superior to the ills of life. The core of his message was this phrasing: **Go Beyond! Plus Ultra!** No go and break a leg, everyone!"

* * *

 _That's quite an variety of Quirks_ , thought Izuku as he stood outside the gates to the mock city he and the 50-ish other examinees were going to enter. And he was right about the variety of Quirks- they were all varied and interesting, from that one guy who looked like a vampire squid glued on top of human legs to the kid with a drill-like pompadour to that guy who tried to single him out in the auditorium, who had mufflers protruding from his calves like a car.

 _Looks like he could run fast and far- maybe he can even heat hs legs up while attacking? Meanwhile, that person has lower arms that look like piledrivers, with some bone sticking out their elbow. Other than obviously increasing punching power, he might be able to burrow through hard surfaces or weaken villain's structures. And that girl looks like- wait, that's the girl from this morning!_ Indeed it was the girl with the round face. It looked as though she was trying to amp herself up for what is probably going to be a grueling and difficult combat-oriented exam.

 _Warm-ups… that's a good idea for a physical test such as this. I can't really run around with this many people around me, and just stretching isn't the most efficient thing to do. That leaves shadowboxing._ He took a deep breath before going into a fighting stance. With his mind's eye, he envisioned himself in the center of the testing area, ruined robots around him. He thought of himself bashing robots, tearing through metal and rending alloys. Each move he did in his mental image he did in real life, though he made sure not to hit anyone while he was doing so.

After about 5 minutes of warm-up, Izuku stopped and allowed himself to ease into just holding a stance while bouncing on his feet, prepared for the test to start while everyone else was still doing whatever it was they were doing 5 minutes ago. Unlike the lot of them, Izuku was ready. His inner fire was lit, and his eyes held resolution.

 _You can do this. This is why you've been spending all those days on the beach. Let's get ready to make this My Hero Academy!_

"Alright, Examinees! BEGIN!"

 **A/N: "You seem to have a knack for writing shitty beginnings to chapters, don't you?"**

 **"What do you men? It's nice and tells everyone what's been going on without having to do a whole chapter just on training!"**

 **"As true as that is, the dialogue sucks and the beginning part ends abruptly. It's like we wanted to add more, but we just didn't. So, again- it sucks worse than your older sister on a Monday morning."**

 **... Thinking about it, that joke came out terrible and raises some odd implications but I'll keep it there anyway because frankly, dear, I don't give a damn.**

 **See you guys next time, when the test officially begins!**


	7. Test Yourself

"BEGIN!" At the sound of Present Mic's voice, Izuku shot forward through the still-opening gates of the mock city. He didn't care or notice that most of his peers were still standing before the gates, somewhat confused- he only cared about the arena that lay before him. He quickly found it to be a city that wasn't in ruins- no rubble for him to throw around, no rebar to use as a temporary reach-extender. There were, however, street lamps and utility poles he could use if he wanted to.

From behind a building came one of the mock villains. It was about 2 Izukus, or 3-ish meters, tall- split equally between a single large wheel and a metal torso. It had a spindly neck and a head that consisted of a block of metal and a single camera lens. The two arms it had were also long and thin, and ended in a large, unimpressive combination of claws, gatling guns, and a shield that had the number "1" spray-painted on it. That meant it was a 1-pointer robot.

"One For All: 7% Boost!" Momentarily flowing One For All into his legs, Izuku backflipped away from a stab. He then allowed One For All to momentarily flood his legs a little, Boosting him back towards the 1-pointer. "Tiger…" He did the same with his right arm up to his elbow and slammed it into the face of the 1-pointer, crushing it. "... SMASH!"

Advancing forward a bit, Izuku encountered a set of 5 1-pointers and 3 robots that looked like 4-legged scorpions with giraffe necks and laser-shooting tails, which were the 3.5-meter tall 2-pointers. Boosting himself upwards from a barrage of lasers and rubber bullets, he landed behind the tail of one of the 2-pointers. Flowing his Quirk into his arms, he forced the 2-pointer to eradicate all the 1-pointers in the group before throwing it at another two pointer, eliminating them both. "Jaguar…" He then Boosted his legs to side kick the robot, smashing his heel into and through the chest of the last 2-pointer. "SMASH!"

He was near a utility pole, so he used a Boost to kick it down and another to hold it in his arms. _This is pretty heavy- if I were to actually carry this with me through the entire test, I might need Full Cowl instead of a Boost, but I don't wanna do that just yet._ His self-discussion was interrupted by the appearance of a pair of 3-pointers, 4-meter-tall automatons with a pair of back wheels, a pair of gorilla-like arms, and a pair of flashbang missile launchers. _Since I don't want to lug this thing around the entire time, might as well just throw it away!_ And, using a Boost, he threw it straight at one of the 3-pointers' missile launchers, blowing up both it and three 3-pointers.

Deciding to try his luck, Izuku ran past a group of examinees engaged with battle and into a mock car shop. He grinned a little when he saw that multiple 1-and-2-pointers were inside, along with another pair of 3-pointers. Using Boosted legs, he ran down the middle- the 3-pointers fired their missiles, each of which missed him but took out several of their fellow robots- the flashbang missiles managed to ignite their fuel containers- before they ultimately managed to destroy each other.

Boosting his legs, he bust out of the car shop, just in time to see that a blonde examinee shooting lasers from his navel didn't notice the trio of 2-pointers were behind him. As they shot their lasers at him, Izuku used a Boosted throw to intercept the lasers with the severed arm of a 1-pointer. The arm exploded, catching the attention of the other examinee, and he blasted the three with a navel laser.

"Merci for the assist!" Giving the other guy a thumbs up, the martial artist ran into another building, this time a 5-storey office building. Ignoring some other student that shouted his surprise at how the faux villains were also in the buildings, Izuku easily dispatched a 3-pointer before he began to make his way up a spiral staircase in the middle of the building. From where he entered he could see each floor had some variation of robots, a mix of 1-and-2-pointers, numbering about 5 in total per floor.

 _Alright… I might actually need to activate Full Cowl for this. Let's go!_ Letting loose a deep breath, he allowed his Quirk to permeate throughout his entire body. "One For All: 7% Full Cowl!" Picking up the hammer-like arms of the 3-pointer, he began to make his way up to the top. Rather than sticking to the staircase, he jumped from floor to floor, attacking each robot before him with precision. Several strikes were single hits that effectively dispatched the bots while others were due to him throwing the bots at each other.

"Dragon… SMASH!" At the top floor of the building, chunks of concrete burst outward as Izuku jump-kicked himself and a hidden 3-pointer out of the building. As he and the chunks of metal and concrete fell to the mock streets below, he used his Full Cowl and the debris around him to lob projectiles at several robots that tried to sneak up on fellow examinees. He missed most of them, but the sound alerted the others to the threats sneaking behind them, and they acted accordingly..

He landed in a roll before coming to stop in a squat. Releasing Full Cowl, he surveyed the area around him. It was a mess of robot parts and roughed-up asphalt, with some concrete. He could see some students enter buildings like he did, and he saw students brawling robots in the center of the streets. Nodding to himself, he broke out into a run and was about to enter the fray again when he heard something: the ground was rumbling.

Looking around for the source of the noise, he didn't have to look for long before it made its appearance known. He could see that it was the 0-pointer, the rampaging stage hazard. It was on tank treads, had a pair of 3-fingered arms as big as itself, and a head with 8 different camera lens. It was also a couple storeys tall, maybe 6 storeys. It was also chasing an ever-increasing herd of students.

 _Well, it definitely looks hazardous. I might as well run too-_

"Oww…" Izuku froze in his tracks. He swiftly turned around to see a someone lying on the ground, obscured a little by dust clouds; judging from the sound and position, it was a girl that hurt herself- maybe a foot- and was on the ground and hurting. Also, the 0-pointers colossal hand was coming down on the girl's position.

"7% Full Cowl!" Without any hesitation, Izuku leapt through debris and dust clouds to the girl's position. Since the dust no longer obscured his vision, he saw that it was the round-faced girl he and Kirishima met that morning. Her arms were scraped slightly, and her foot was under a bit of rubble. He quickly threw off the rubble, picked the girl up bridal-style, and hopped away as the 0-pointer's arm crashed down where they just were. It lifted its arm up and revealed the massive depression it left in the ground. The camera lens glowed a menacing crimson color.

"Holy stinking super crap! Who programmed this thing? This is supposed to be an entrance exam, not a death sentence! That 0-pointer just demolished the ground we were at; if I were too late, I don't think it would've held back. It would've crushed us both!" The girl he carried in his arms started panicking.

"Waiwaiwait, what? A-are you sure U.A. is letting us go through such a dangerous test like this?"

"I don't think we're supposed to!" With a grunt, Izuku dodged another arm that tried to smash down on him and the girl he was carrying. Jumping back a bit, he used his Full-Cowled legs to kick up a large dust cloud, and used the distraction to hide behind some rubble. He deactivated Full Cowl. "Alright, so either they have medical staff on hand for reviving the dead, or that robot is going haywire and ruining the test. See, it's even deliberately sowing panic by trying to topple students with the buildings! At least the other mock villains had rubber bullets, non-fatal lasers and flashbang missiles. This one's trying to crush everything!" He looked awkwardly at the girl still in his arms.

"Can you, maybe, put me down now?" He gingerly did, not knowing how hurt her ankles were. "Thank you. So, anyways… U.A. should send a teacher, like Cementoss or Thirteen!" As she screamed this, the top half of their rubble cover was knocked away. The pair looked up to see the 0-pointer looking down on them. It lifted a hand.

"Uraraka, what's your Quirk? Is it related to the pads I see on the tips of your fingers?"

"Yeah, it lets me remove the gravity of an object. But, the heavier the object, the more nauseous I get."

"Would you get sick if you tried to lift up that thing's hand?" An ominous groaning noise resounded throughout the mock city.

"Yeah, I would."

"Okay. Plan B it is." The arm started to fall down towards them. Rather than trying to run, Izuku stood his ground. He used Full Cowl, but put an extra Boost on his arms and legs- 12% of One For All's full power. There was noticeable strain, but Izuku could handle it, despite the grunt he let loose.

As the arm came down on Izuku and Uraraka, the martial artist stomped his feet, grounding himself, and thrust his arms upwards catching the 0-pointer. The ground under him cracked, and he sank in a to the bottoms of his knees- more than he anticipated. He also felt a lot of pain in his limbs, but it was nothing new to him. He'd known real pain, and holding up a really big hand was not equivalent.

Still, he could say with confidence this was one of his stupider ideas.

"What are you doing‽" Uraraka screamed, as she tried her best not to cower or shake too much.

"I'm, ngh, stalling for time! Eventually, a Hero's going to come to help us out of this situation, but if this thing is going to lethally rampage around, others might get hurt while the Hero's on their way! So I might as well just stall it in a single spot, like right here!" Suddenly, the robot put more force into his arm. "Ngh! Well, you know, sorry for keeping you here with me."

"That's, that's fine. Just, are you going to be able to hold that up like that for long?"

"Maybe. Ngh. I can't handle my Quirk's full power at the moment, so I'm training myself to reach 100% by increasing what percent of my full power I can handle at a time. Right now, I'm fine with using 7% over extended periods of time, like a person jogging at a good pace. But if need be, I can shift myself up to 12% in parts of my body, maybe more if I do it for an instant. Right now, that's what I'm doing- holding this hand up using 12%." She gaped.

"Only 12%? If this is just 12%, then…" She gasped when she saw Izuku sink further into the ground. Before, his body and his joints were all slightly bent, so as to better support the massive weight placed on them. Now, he crumpled further into himself, almost forming a perfect semicircle with his back and 90-degree angles with his arms and knees. "AHH!"

 _It… it just put it's other hand on top! It's bearing down on me with more weight now!_ Adrenaline fueled him as he tried to push back up with his Full Cowl and Boost. As he fought to move upwards, the metallic giant groaned to push him back downwards. Once more the ground cracked underneath him as he grit his teeth and applied more and more pressure to the titan above.

 _Nrrgh! My bones feel like they're going to break! I'm not supposed to use 12% for this long, so hurry up. Hurry up, and get off of me! Get out of my hands, get off of my back! Better yet, just get restrained already by a Hero! Even better… just get obliterated, just get turned to scrap by someone like All Might already!_

As Izuku continued with his inner monologue, he didn't notice what was happening around him, nor what was happening with his own body. But Uraraka did. She saw the dust that he was somehow kicking up, even though the only movements he made were shaky attempts to straighten up. She also saw how he was glowing a faint shade of green.

 _Actually… no, don't. I'll do it myself. This is an obstacle that I will overcome! Kacchan wouldn't want to admit defeat by asking for a Hero's help so soon, and I won't either. I'll turn you into scrap with my own power. I'll defeat this thing with my own Quirk, with my One For All._

As he strained more and more, Uraraka felt her hair blow back in the face of the winds Izuku was producing. The dust clouds he produced before were being blown away by this accumulation of power. Izuku's body, before shimmering a dull green, was now gleaming a vibrant emerald. If she squinted, the gravity girl would notice that his eyes shined bright and that energy arced throughout his body. _So, hurry up and_ _ **get off my BACK ALREADY!**_

Izuku let out a mighty roar, and the earth shook.

Uraraka didn't notice exactly what went on as the resulting burst of dust that clogged the air obscured some of her vision, but she could feel the shockwaves that resonated from the collision between the teen and the titan. When the dust settled, she took a peek, and her jaw dropped.

They no longer had to worry about the 0-pointer, as most of the upper half was completely eradicated. Meanwhile, the lower half had flown several meters away, with the tank treads facing the sky. Small bits of scrap and wiring were falling like snow around them- the last remains of the 0-pointers.

Izuku was still standing in the ground deformity, but he was now standing straight, arms up, palms upward, fingers together. The martial artist was panting heavily, and his arms looked just a little bit red and swollen, but otherwise he was okay.

"Heh, heh, hey…" he said, groggily. "I, uh, I managed to… I managed to, to do it. At 7 and 12… 7 and 12%, too. That's not, that's not too bad. Heh heh." With some difficulty, he managed to drag himself up from the depression in the ground, and was standing on his feet, surveying the damage. Either that, or he was wiping sweat from his brow. Either way, he was wavering, and barely standing up. The gravity girl noted that a bunch of other students, as well as a small old lady and Present Mic, were all running towards them. She also noted that Izuku was about to fall.

"Hey!" Struggling against some pain in her ankle, she managed to catch him, and supported him on her shoulders. "Uh, careful, now. Uhm, it's… bad luck to fall on the day of an exam, right?" That was the last thing Izuku heard before all he could hear were ringing noises and slurred sounds, and her shyly smiling face was the last thing he saw before nothingness.

* * *

 **A/N: "Oh, come on. That ending to your chapter is weak."**

 **"I thought it was intense, perfect."**

 **"It isn't, especially Izuku's inner monologue. The words look jumbled, and any meaning or message is either unclear at best or not present at worst. Speaking of not being present, how come Izuku never attempts to use 100%?"**

 **... Hold onto that thought while we fish for an answer we could adequately weave into the narrative using decent grammar and storytelling.**

 **In any event, bye for now, see y'all next chapter.**


	8. Post-Test

One week.

It had been one week since Izuku took the entrance exam, and one week since he did something to the robot. He had no idea what happened- he just a desire to get rid of something, and next thing he knew most of the villain bot was destroyed and he'd fatigued himself to unconsciousness. Luckily, Recovery Girl was there to watch over him while he was blacked out. After an hour, he woke up, signed some forms, went to take the written portion of the exam, and then went home.

What surprised him the most was how it felt when he decimated the titan. It almost felt like a 100% smash, but it also didn't. He… he couldn't describe it. When he brought it up with Kirishima, the other teen was just as confused. He couldn't contact All Might for advice either- no text was answered, and all calls went straight to voicemail. This was really weird to the teen, but he knew All Might would have to answer eventually, so eventually he gave up and started to wait- both for All Might, and for a letter from U.A.

So, here he was, eating a nice fish dinner with his mom, soon after some light sparring with Kirishima, when they suddenly heard a knock on the door. His mom went to see what it was- from what he could hear, it was a package from the Zmaaon online shopping company and a letter from-

"U.A.? U.A.! Izuku, Izuku, Izuku, **Izuku!** The letter from U.A. is here!" After they both politely shooed the delivery person out of their doorway and gently set the Zmaaon box down, Izuku tore the letter in half, opening it and releasing a small device. When the device clattered onto the floor, a holographic projection of All Might appeared.

" _ **I am here as a projection!**_ " Both Midoriyas were stunned that the legendary Symbol of Peace sent the Midoriya household a holojection of himself through U.A., especially Izuku. " _ **I've had a lot of things to do and to think about, so I'm sorry this message has been sent late. My apologies! But before I say anything else, I have a surprise for you, Young Midoriya- I've come to town to teach at U.A.!**_ "

"I-I-Izuku, you're going to learn under All Might! _You're going to learn under All Might!_ "

" _ **Since I have more of these to do later, I must keep my message to you short. In brief, Young Midoriya, you have passed the entrance exam to U.A. High. Congratulations, kiddo!**_ " His mother practically fainted at the good news.

" _ **However, just telling you that you passed is not good enough. You need to know, young man, that we didn't score solely on the number of mock villains you incapacitated- we also scored our examinees on the heroic actions they did, such as aiding others in their battles or helping those who needed help.**_ " The face of that girl flashed through Izuku's mind. He wondered if she managed to get in.

" _ **You, young man, did both! Considering the kind nature you showed, I bet you're wondering if that young lady you helped also passed. She did, and passed with the 8th-highest score we saw that day at 58, split evenly between the robots and the heroism. You, on the other hand, had 40 points from the villain robots and 65 for heroic actions- an astonishing 105 points! The only score to beat it was a 106, obtained by a young Katsuki Bakugou.**_ "

As his mother began to squeal in excitement, Izuku began to feel conflicting emotions. On one hand, he was happy for getting such a high score. However, Kacchan had still placed 1st; it was one point, and it showed how close he'd reached to the Explosion user's level, but it still represented the gap between the two of them.

 _Well, whatever. Don't wait up for me, Kacchan- I've gotta try and surpass you, so don't lag in your own training._

" _ **So now, Young Midoriya, you know the full story. You also know the high expectations you've set for yourself here at U.A.. So come and show that you can handle these types of situations, Young Midoriya! Come and accept Your Hero Academia!**_ "

* * *

A little while later- after finishing dinner and having an excited conversation with Kirishima, who also passed the exam and had a score of 88- All Might finally contacted Izuku and asked for him to go to Dagobah Beach. When he arrived there, the man was in his Yoshimura Yami guise and had a wide smile on his face, which mirrored Izuku's own massive grin.

"Sir! I think I passed!"

" **Ha ha ha! I guess you did, huh‽** " They high-fived each other. " **Congratulations kid! And, sorry for keeping my involvement with U.A. a secret from you. I didn't want you to accuse me of favoritism, as well as because I was under contract with the school to not disclose any information. On that note, I also wasn't one of the judges for the exam- I didn't want accusations of favoritism.** "

"Apology accepted. Although, considering you were looking for a successor when you met me, I guess you took the job at U.A. to search for potential candidates before you decided on me?"

" **That is correct, Young Midoriya. I had almost chosen one of the 3rd years, a promising lad named Mirio Togata, recommended to me by a former sidekick. He's like you, kind and strong and idealistic, except louder and more outgoing.** "

"I'd like to meet him when I go to U.A…. and after I polish my skills up a little bit more. Speaking of which, All Might, I need to talk to you about the villain bot."

" **Indeed. Before you begin, the staff at U.A. have no idea why its programming failed during the exam. It also wasn't just your examination room, either- several others went berserk, although yours was the only one we couldn't get to stop before people were injured.** "

"Either there's a bug in the system, or someone was somehow controlling those robots. I guess there's not enough information to decide if either hypothesis is correct?"

" **As sharp a mind as ever. The U.A. staff couldn't recover anything of use from the villain robots, and their technicians couldn't find any anomalies in the code. There was a chance that, because your robot was actually destroyed before the Exam ended rather than be rendered immobile like the others, we could've found some sort of data to lead us in the right path. Unfortunately, the robot's internal computer was too damaged by your attack.** "

"That's something else I wanted to talk to you about, aside from the faux villains. During the exam, while I was trying to hold up the hands of the 0-pointer, I was somehow able to completely destroy the 0-pointer while only using a 7% Full Cowl and a 12% Boost on all four of my limbs. Other than slight and simple fractures, none of them were destroyed. Instead, I had severe energy exhaustion that caused me to black out. Have either you or your predecessor done something similar?"

" **I can't say that either of us have. And besides, Young Midoriya, that isn't all. While I may not have been judging, I was watching the exam alongside the U.A. teachers. During your fight with the robot, there was a bright green flash from its hands before the camera watching it was blinded. Next thing we know, the camera- and the robot- are destroyed.** "

Izuku said nothing, but instead let out a long, drawn-out exhale. When he came to the beach, other than encouragement to do his best in U.A., he expected some answers to what happened. But he was no closer to the truth. After his little slump, he gave All Might a grin.

"Alright, guess I'll have to go at it alone then!" He held out an open palm before clenching it into a tight fist. "I'm certain it's a mechanic or power of One For All hat no one has ever come across yet. I'm going to find out what it is, and just like my current usage of One For All, I'm going to find a way to harness it. Sadly, I can only barely remember the feeling I had when I did whatever I did to the faux villain. But, considering what the future of a Hero-in-training holds, I'll discover it in full again sometime down the road."

He looked up to the adult in front of him. "The motto of U.A. is 'plus ultra,' to go beyond! I'll make sure to do it with One For All, and make it- and myself- into a Symbol of Peace on par, if not greater, than you."

" **Ha ha ha!** " With a puff of smoke, the Hero turned into his muscular form, making the wig fall off of his head. " **That's the spirit I like to see, Young Midoriya! You're making this frail old man proud.** "

"Frail? You know you still have some of One For All inside of you, All Might."

"DID I JUST HEAR ALL MIGHT?"

"LOOK, THERE HE IS!"

" **S-H-I-T!** "

* * *

Months pass, and eventually the school year ended as middle-and-junior-high schoolers around Japan move up a year into high school. Many of them end up going to schools near their houses, but some end up traveling across the country to start their new high school lives. One such student, Izuku Midoriya, was part of the first group. But, as he walked through the halls of U.A. to find his homeroom, he passed by students that were clearly from the second group; they gave themselves away mainly by their manner of speech. For example, there was a girl who was speaking on a phone- probably to her parents- about how excited she was to be in U.A. She had familiar brown hair and-

"Oh hey, it's you!"  
"Oh hey, it's you!" He stopped in the middle of the hallway. It was the girl he met at the exam, who's name failed to initially come to memory. "Umm… I can kinda remember your name, but I can't really recall it. I know it starts with the letter 'U' though." She did a spit take in surprise.

"Wait, really? That's pretty weird- I don't remember telling you my name during the exam…" The boy gave a small chuckle. At that, they both started walking in a random direction.

"That is pretty weird. If you never told me, how did I know your name started with a letter 'U'? A question for later. Right now, though, would you mind if we introduced ourselves properly? I'm Izuku 'Deku' Midoriya." She put her thumb to her chin in a contemplative gesture.

"Deku? Deku… As in dekiru, 'you can do it!'"

"Yup!"

"That's pretty neat. Well, my name is Ochako Uraraka! It's nice to meet you, Deku. And I guess that this is our homeroo- _the door is massive!_ " During their walk, they came upon their homeroom, U.A. 1st year Class A. Like the girl said, the door was large- easily around 4 meters tall.

"That's probably for guys with big Quirks!" Upon hearing a familiar voice, Izuku turned around to see his buddy Kirishima, except that something changed about him. "Hey, Izuku! And that girl I accidentally bumped into before the entrance exam! Again, sorry about that."

"Apology accepted."

"Alright! Now then, Izuku! What do you think of my high school debut?" His hair, which had previously been black and looked like bed-head, was now a vibrant crimson and spiked like a jagged piece of rock; two locks in particular were spiked up over his eyes in a way that looked like horns.

"Nice hair, loving the new scarlet color. Are you using your Hardening Quirk to keep it all spikey, or is that actually gel?" Before he could answer, a new voice called out to the group.

"Kiri! Kiri! Oh, where are you, Kiri? Where- ah, there you are!" From around the color came a girl with a bright white smile and bright pink skin. Her hair was an unruly pink mess only a few shades darker than her skin, which meant it was still pretty bright. She also had a pair of crooked, pale, yellow horns on her head. She was bright through most of her body, except for her eyes which had black sclera and yellow irises. Factoring in her happy smile and the cheerful look in her eye, her appearance screamed "look at me! I'm a bubbly girl and the life of the party!" Izuku turned to Kirishima.

"Friend?"

"Classmate… and maybe a minor… uh, what's the word for someone who, like, keeps secrets and stuff?"

"Confidant?"

"Yeah, that! In any case, this is-" His attempt to introduce her was short-lived as she shoved her way past him (she didn't mean it) and got up in Izuku's and Uraraka's faces.

"Hi! I'm Mina Ashido! You guys know my horn buddy Kiri?"

"Hi there, Mina! I'm Ochako Uraraka. I can't say I know your, uh, horn buddy pretty well. Deku, I saw you with him the morning of the exam- although his hair looks cooler now- so you know him, right?"

"Yes. Kirishima and I met in the spring while I was training on a beach in preparation for the U.A. entrance exams. He joined me and my coach, and we just sorta became friends."

"Heheh, that's right! And now, we're all here in U.A., ready to become some of the best heroes the world has ever known! So come on, let's get inside our class and meet everyone else- i wanna see who I'm gonna study and compete with until we graduate!" They all gave their approval, and he let Izuku open the door to their class, their place of study for the next couple of years, where blood and sweat and tears will leak until they're all proper heroes.

They were greeted by the sight of the rest of their classmates- only 4 seats were left open, which meant that they were the last ones to make it to class. Looking at them were people, from big like the guy with white hair and multiple arms sitting at the front, to small like the dude who looked like a grape sitting near the back, from the invisible- there was a floating girl's uniform sitting next to the big guy, implying an Invisibility Quirk- to the very visible, like a person with a crow's head instead of a human head sitting near the back.

In the class were three other people interacted with before. The first two were from the entrance exam- it was the straightlaced kid with the mufflers in his calves and the guy who could shoot lasers from his navel. The last one, which did not surprise Izuku given his luck, was Katsuki Bakugou, who was currently giving him a death glare.

But none of the students could hold a candle as to who they saw right in front of the blackboard- a man standing in a bright-yellow full-body sleeping back.

"You lot arrived here 30 seconds before the bell rang, and traveling in a small pack too." With lethargism he unzipped the sleeping bag and stepped out of it, revealing a tall and slender man dressed in a black outfit with a grey scarf. He had messy black hair that reached his shoulders and facial hair that looked unshaven and unkempt. His most striking features were his eyes, which were bloodshot and had bags under them- he was likely a guy that slept late a lot. "Time is a valuable resource, you know. If you wasted it, you're not very rational." He zipped up the sleeping bag. "I am your homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa." That name sparked some recognition in Izuku's eyes.

"Shota Aizawa, otherwise known as the Pro Hero Eraserhead, right?" Their teacher just made a small grunting noise before, out of nowhere, he pulled out what looked like a gym uniform.

"No idle chatter. Take these, put them on quickly, and head out to the U.A. Training Grounds." For a moment, Izuku could see a grin on the teacher's face. " We'll be having a Quirk Apprehension Test."

* * *

 **A/N: "What is this Quirk Apprehension Test their teacher wants them to do? Find out next time in-"**

 **"Stop. Just... fucking... stop. None of that here. NO! This chapter already sucks enough trying to cram in different scenes, not to mention the trashiness of the talks between All Might and Izuku on Dagobah Beach and between the four students before they enter class. Don't detract anymore by messing around in the AN and giving that damn Dragon Ball shit."**

 **"Oh come on! I had a chance to talk first, and I took it! And besides, I don't see any problem with the conversations."**

 **"They end too quickly and the way they get presented is crap. And by crap, I mean you."**

 **... *sniff sniff* Speaking of crap, the hell am I smelling?**

 **Winter Kistu: You and other readers don't get to know what happens because not even Izuku knows what the hell happens. It's a thing he needs to learn, a thing he's confused about- since he's the main POV that means you and other readers get to be as confused as he was.**

 **HankFlamion18: I feel like she had a slight chance to get into U.A. in the actual series before she earned those 45 rescue points, since points just mean you have a higher chance of acceptance. Her 28-at-the-time points weren't too bad. Even so, I decided to scale her up a bit for really no reason.**

 **Viate: That is true...**

 **AkabaneKazama: No... Fimmy Jallon is a ripoff of Jimmy Fallon... There will be a ripoff of Jackie Chan, but that's for another date.**

 **In any event, bye.**


	9. Take Note

As the students made their way out of 1st Year Classroom A, there was a notable tension in the air as two of the guys locked eyes. The first was Izuku, and the second was Katsuki. In the middle, slightly nervous and moving his gaze between the two of them, was Kirishima, who only had a faint idea of the two's relationship. That tense moment soon passed, however, as the two boys' silent conversation concluded. The message was simple- it was a (hesitant, at least, on Izuku's side) declaration of war, a call to compete for top score. Inwardly, Izuku sighed- Bakugou is an actual rival now, sure, but he hoped for a more friendly rivalry.

 _I can't win them all, I guess. Well, not for the time being_. Kirishima, who kind of sensed his plight, sent his own mental message to Izuku. _Well, if he wants to play peacekeeper and middle man, why not? Until me and Kacchan are on easier speaking terms, I might as well ask him to be one_. After receiving the OK from Izuku, the Hardener immediately introduced himself to Bakugou and offered a friendly hand which the Explosion user gruffly shook off. As the Hardener attempted to befriend- or at least be-acquaintance- Katsuki, someone came up to Izuku. It was the blue-haired teen with engines in his legs.

"Hello again, fellow student! As expected, you passed the exam, didn't you?"

"Ah, yeah. So, we never got to introduce ourselves. I'm Izuku 'Deku' Midoriya."

"Deku?"

"A childhood nickname. Originally, it was an insult that guy over there," he hiked a thumb in Kacchan's direction. "Came up with, meaning 'Defenseless Izuku.' Despite that, I think it sounds enough like 'dekiru'- 'you can do it.' I've turned his insult into words of encouragement."

"I see. It's somewhat similar to how Heroes, even ones like All Might, have to juggle their popularity with those that both like them and dislike them. Speaking of which! That person over there has absolutely no respect. First he places his feet on the desks we share with our predecessors, and then he says he'll crush me! And now I've learned he has come up with such a nickname. Does he really intend to become a hero?"

"Well, uh… before I say anything else, can you tell me your name?" The other teen's hands went in odd, angular directions as he tried to handle his embarrassment from forgetting to introduce himself.

"Of course! How forgetful of me! I am Tenya Iida, aspiring hero. Pleasure to meet you."

"Same here. Now, regarding what you said about Kacchan… He may be rough around the edges, but he's absolutely determined to become the next Number 1 Hero. His pride and competitiveness are second to none, although it has caused him to develop a bit of a superiority complex and a delinquent attitude."

"I do apologize for saying this, but that seems a little difficult to believe. In any event, I believe that you seem more likely to be a top hero than him. After all, I saw your actions during the entrance exam. The way you aided others like that, and then in your final attempt to protect that girl from the 0-pointer… not only do you have compassion, but also insight. You saw the true nature of the entrance exam. I highly doubt that person could hold a candle to you in that regard." Izuku smirked.

"Just watch, and you'll see there's more to people than meets the eye. Err, by the way, what do you mean by true nature of the exam?"

* * *

Uraraka was stretching her arms over her head with a nice, content smile on her face.

"It's a great day outside! It's a bit sad that we're going to have to miss orientation and the entrance speeches for this Quirk Test." Around her were the other students, all in their standard-issue blue-and-white U.A. gym uniforms. They were standing in a training field, complete with a track, a field, and some heavy items. In front of them, standing in a white circle, was their homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa. He yawned.

"If you want to be Heroes, then don't waste time on things like those." He narrowed his eyes as he heard several groans from the class. "Get used to my style of teaching- as you all know, U.A. is known for the 'freestyle' education its students receive. However, teachers get to be 'freestyle' in their education, too. We get to tailor your education as we see fit." As he talked about physical tests and rationality, Kirishima leaned close to Izuku and whispered in his ear.

"So, you know this guy, Midoriya?" Weighing his options, Midoriya decided to whisper back to the red-head while their teacher kept on talking.

"Yeah. Underground Pro Hero Eraserhead. His Quirk, Erasure, allows him to temporarily cancel out the Quirks of anyone he makes eye contact with."

"Scary! How come I've never heard of him?"

"I'm not surprised- he's not known for liking the spotlight, and he mostly works at night. Now stop whispering, we might get in trouble." The Pro suddenly pointed a finger at Bakugou.

"Bakugou. Back in middle school, what was your farthest throw?"

"Tch, junior high! And it was 67 meters." The Hero just grunted.

"Go stand in that white circle over there." He tossed a ball at the Explosion user. "Use your Quirk to throw that ball as far as possible, so long as your feet don't leave the circle. Use all you have."

"Heh heh…" The teen limbered himself up, as well as causing his hands to sweat a little bit more than normal. He reared back, and threw the ball with an added boost from an explosion. "DIIIEEE YOU SHITTY BALL!" While the other students recoiled a little at his choice of wording, he simply stared as his projectile sailed into the distance. When he couldn't see it anymore, he turned to Aizawa, who was using a device that would tell him how far it was launched. Without a word, he showed Bakugou his score- an impressive 953.45 meters. "AW, FUCK YEAH!"

"It's important you know your own limits," their teacher said as he pocketed the device, "As it's the first step to your growth as Heroes." The class erupted into a series of cheers. Excitement was abound, as many felt they could finally stretch their bodies a bit and work with their Quirks. One person even called it fun. An angry tick mark appeared on Aizawa's face. "Fun? Awesome? I can't let any of you enter the world of Heroes with such naive trains of thought. To do so would stunt your potential.

As such, the person with the lowest score in today's series of exercises will be judged as having zero potential, and _will be_ _ **expelled**_." All the students' hearts stopped. Uraraka began panicking and protesting.

"That's totally unfair! It's only the first day!"

" _Life_ is unfair," Aizawa countered. "Vehicular accidents. Natural disasters. Villain attacks. These are all unfair; it's a Hero's job to to correct all of them. To prepare you for all that, you're going to have to cancel evening plans to hang out at a cafe, or karaoke bar, or wherever else, because this school and all us teachers are going to press you all flat." His face widened into a grin. "Use your strength to go beyond all that. That's the real 'Plus Ultra.'"

"A trial by fire…" Iida mumbled. Izuku agreed. He wasn't looking at just Kacchan anymore. Now, he was looking at everyone else, too. The tone in their teacher's voice suggested absolute seriousness- it wasn't a ruse, it wasn't a trick. It was a real threat. Here, he would have to compete with others just to stay in U.A. Not only was this a test of Quirk ability, but also a test of wills, each one fighting to keep their spot, each spirit clashing. Izuku cracked his neck a little.

 _Let's go._

* * *

Izuku took the last few notes he wanted on his classmate's Quirks as the Quirk Apprehension Test ended. He brought his notebook with him, and was able to learn a good amount of information about his classmate's abilities whenever it wasn't his turn to do one of the tests.

The teen was definitely one of the highest-ranked people in the class, even though he limited himself only to using 7% Full Cowl and short Boosts of 12% power for the entirety of it. He briefly wondered what it would've been like had he used a 100% Boost, but shook those thoughts from his head- if he wasn't ready for it yet, he would not use it.

In any case, he was mostly comfortable with how he did during the test- 4th place, right behind a Shoto Todoroki, a Momo Yaoyorozu, and, of course, Kacchan. With Bakugou, he was more-or-less tied, if only slightly behind, in most of the subtests- he had his raw strength from One For All and his flexible body from his training to match with Bakugou's higher speed and agility, but he could see how he needed improvement.

That being said, he was also interested in how he fared against the rest, and not just his childhood friend. In terms of strength, he wasn't the strongest- a Rikidou Satou and Mezou Shouji edged him out. He wasn't the fastest- other than the Explosion user, he had to contend with Iida. He matched flexibility with a Mina Ashido and Mashirao Ojiro, and his endurance was level with Kirishima, Satou, and Ojiro. And he wasn't even the best thrower- Uraraka managed to reach a score of infinite meters.

But, in terms of all-around ability, he most definitely deserved his 4th-place spot. Him, and Yaoyorozu and Todoroki. It almost seemed like their bodies and abilities were tailored specifically to excel in things It was probably true- he recognized Todoroki's last name, since Japan's No. 2 Pro Hero was Enji Todoroki, Hero name Endeavor, meaning he was groomed for this. Meanwhile, he kind of heard about the Yaoyorozu family- they were rich, so if their daughter was going to be a Heroine, of course she'd be given a strict regimen since a young age.

That wasn't even taking into account their Quirks. Yaoyorozu could create things, and cleverly used several devices to help her get through the exam, from scooters to a cannon. Todoroki, on the other hand, had cryokinetic abilities- control over ice and anything cold. It struck Izuku as odd, considering how much pride Endeavor showed in his pyrokinetic Hellflame Quirk, that his son would have something that was the polar opposite of it, but what the heck.

 _Hmm, is it ice generation or can he manipulate the molecules around him into lowering their temperatures?_

They weren't the only interesting Quirks he could see and take note of, however. He noted Satou's superhuman strength ( _linked to consumption of some white powder_ ), Mina's ability to shoot out globs of liquid ( _Composition? Viscosity? Ph level?_ ), the frog-like abilities of a girl named Tsuyu Asui ( _Strong legs, long tongue. Sensitivity to environment?_ ).

He noticed Tokoyami's shadowy partner ( _Where do they connect to each other?_ ), the electric power of a Denki Kaminari ( _Wattage? Voltage? Amperage?_ ), the sticky purple orbs of a dwarf named Minoru Mineta ( _sticks to anything but himself_ ). He took notes on everyone in the class, and revised notes on Quirks he had already seen. He had gotten some looks for doing it, sure, but he knew this information could come in handy. A good Hero needed good brains and brawn, after all.

Disregarding his love for Quirks for a bit, he was surprised when Aizawa brought up the scores for the class. Rather than having just one last-place-person, there were actually three people tied for last- Mineta, Kaminari, and a girl with an Invisibility Quirk named Tooru Hagakure. He wasn't surprised by the fact that there were three last-placers, he was surprised by what Aizawa said.

"Hmm… Normally, I would follow through with my promise of expulsion, and would have expelled all three of our last-place finishers. However, you showed me you had potential to be somewhat decent Heroes. So, I won't be expelling you."

"WOAH!"

"W-w-wait, that really wasn't a logical ruse?"

""YAHOO! I MADE IT!"

"My life flashed before my eyes for a moment there…"

"Good job on showing him what you're made of, man!"

"Tch, you side characters are loud as fuck."

" _However,_ " The seriousness in his voice brought all the attention back on their teacher. "Keep in mind that you're starting near the bottom of what you all can grow into. Those in the bottom half, see this as a message to improve yourselves- for those in the top half, use that as motivation not to fall behind." Everyone nodded to his message. "Go change out and come back to the classroom to receive your curriculum documents. Class is dismissed."

* * *

"... Then there's Present Mic's class. You'd think such a boisterous hero would keep his personality like that even while teaching English grammar."

"I know, right! When I saw him I thought the class was going to be fun, too! Well, English is a cool language, anyway, so I guess this should help us a bit in coming up with attack names. What attacks can I make with my Acid?"

"I already have one- Reddo Gaunturetto! Supa strongu panchu!"

"Kirishima, you should say 'It is a super strong punch.'" School had ended, and now the students were on their way back home. After a long day of classes, Kirishima had met up with Izuku at the front yard of U.A. High to ride the train home together. They were greeted by Mina Ashido, who had decided to accompany them on their train ride- her house wasn't that far from Kirishima's anyway.

"Ah, hello there!" A fourth voice reached their ears- they turned around and saw Iida approaching them. He looked to the Hardener and the Acider. "Your names were Kirishima and Ashido, right?"

"Right! And you're, uh, Iida, right? Nice work during the Apprehension Test, man- you sure are fast!"

"Thank you! Your ability deserves some praise too, you know. The defensive capabilities of such a Quirk are great for Hero work and protecting innocents." Ashido butted in.

"Hey! Don't discount me and Mido over here! We're pretty cool too, you know! Especially Mido- his Quirk is strong!"

"Ah, you gave me a nickname already, huh?"

"HEY!" They heard another new voice and turned around to see Uraraka waving at them. "If you guys are headed to the train station, let me come too!" As she approached, Iida made an odd handshake-like gesture with his hand.

"You're the Infinity Girl." That made the pink-skinned horned-girl laugh.

"Yeah, yeah! That's me! And you're Iida."

:And I'm Ashido!" As the group conversed and the students hung out with each other, Izuku let out a content sigh. He was smiling happily at this development.

Due to his Quirklessness, he really didn't have friends for the past 9 or so years. He had acquaintances, but no one whose shoulder he could really cry on, no one to support him other than his mother. The past ten months, however, have been great for him. Look at the people in front of him- there were two people he could already call friends, and two more that were working their way up that ladder. Then there's the fact that Bakugou doesn't see him as a pebble on the road anymore, and since he now has a Quirk the people in class won't have a reason to distance themselves from him.

He knew he'd have to fight his way through U.A.'s rigor. But making friends?

That was more than he could ask for.

* * *

 **A/N: "You really could have benefited more from including the actual Test. I know what you're planning, but honestly, this is just boring."**

 **"It ain't boring! It may not be exciting, but it's interesting to read!"**

 **"Don't delude yourself. It's not bad, it's just boring to read. Just like these ANs."**

 **... I'm not boring... sniffle...**


	10. Battle Trials and Tribulations

_**A/N: I LIVE!**_

* * *

"Look, I'm not saying you're wrong about it, but if the Earth actually wasn't round, it'd be cubed-shape, not flat."

"And I keep saying, if we don't live on a sphere, then we're living on a circle." Izuku watched as Kirishima easily made small talk with Denki Kaminari, a student in Class 1-A with an Electricity Quirk. "You can't have a Planet that isn't round in some way. It can look like an egg for all I care, but something close to a perfect cube? Nah, man, that'd be even more ridiculous than the ice-wall theory."

"I think that, if we weren't really living on a spherical Earth," Izuku threw his own two cents in, "we're living on a fake Earth. We're in a computer, in a virtual program. And by that, I don't mean something like the Matrix- I mean that maybe we're in an anime. Or at least, we could be in an anime FanFiction."

"Ha! Man, I thought you were one of those super-serious studious types, but you've got a sense of humor too, Midoriya!" The stoplight trio, as well as the rest of the class, had been waiting for 2 minutes for their teacher to arrive. They were currently in the Hero Basic Training class, waiting for something to happen. And when the door slammed open and a familiar face peeked through, they knew something was happening.

" **Because I AM HERE**!" The entire class erupted with noise as All Might entered the room.

"ALL MIGHT!"

"Wow, the Silver Age costume. Seeing capes like those are so rare!"

"Shut your hole, you shit-nerd."

"He's actually teaching this class! I'm dreaming, right?"

"He shines so much more brilliantly in person! Ah, not as much as I do, though."

" **Ah ha ha ha ha! It's amazing to a future generation of Heroes so fired up about something, especially this class! Hero Training 101. And our first lesson is going to be… Battle Training!** "

* * *

Most of Class 1-A was in the boys' locker room, dressing up in their Hero costumes- a must for their class- and chatting to each other. Kaminari, who wore a simple ensemble consisting of a cool jacket, cool shirt, and cool pants. He had one thing that looked useful- a small radio antenna connected to an earpiece on his right ear.

"Aw man, I can't wait to start this session! I could barely do anything with my Quirk yesterday, but now, I can finally stretch my legs. Y'all better get ready, or you'll get shocked!" Kacchan loudly slammed a locker closed.

"Oi!" His outfit screamed 'boom.' He had a mask that looked like an explosion, baggy pants with hardened knee pads, a belt with small grenades along it, and arm bracers that looked like large grenades. The only thing relatively normal was the simple black-and-orange tank top he wore. "You got some bark, but don't go parading like you're top-dog around here. That belongs to me, Katsuki Bakugou! Better watch yourself, side-character, or you're going to get blown to bits."

"Hehe!" As he slammed his locker next, Kirishima showed his costume, which was nothing but pants, shoulder guards, and a demon-shaped mask, all of which were red…. Or crimson. "You got some bark too! Be careful, otherwise you might be the one left in the dust. Ain't I right, Iida?"

"That is correct!" The speedster was the next to slam his locker, something which was starting to get annoying to some of their other classmates, like Tokoyami Fumikage and his simple black cloak and Shoto Todoroki in his gym-clothes-looking costume. Unlike these two that kept it simple, Iida looked like some sort of horned knight in light-grey armor, with mufflers around his shoulders making him resemble a car to some extent. "Remember, we are here in one of the world's most rigorous training courses. Do not take anything lightly"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm already dressed, but you losers can take your sweet time and meet me at the site." As he existed, Izuku exited right behind him, thankfully after lightly closing his locker and not slamming it. Minoru Mineta, who looked like a caped bowl of grapes (or a purple kid in a diaper) and was currently lamenting his costume, comically cried in jealousy.

* * *

Weeks ago…

"Mom? Hey, mom! I'm back from training at the beach!" As the teen put his shoes to the side of the door, he couldn't help but notice the silence in his apartment. He went into the kitchen to look for his mother, knowing that she'd normally have something in a pot by the time he arrived home. There was something, but it was warm, and he couldn't see his mother. What he could see, however, was a note taped to the wall.

 _Let's see… "Went to pick up something. Shishinabe hot pot is on the stove- it'll probably still be warm by when you get home and shower. I love you! - Mom." Alright. I guess I'll shower before eating._

He showered before he ate. During his meal, he heard the front door open, and he heard his mother announce how she was home.

"I'm home!" He heard the door slam closed.

"Hey mom!"

"IZUKU! Oh, you are not going to _believe_ what I have for you!" As she rounded the corner to the kitchen, Izuku couldn't believe what she had for him. "I… I remember I was cleaning your room one day, and I saw one of your notebooks were open. Inside was a drawing of what your Hero costume would be." In her hands was a simple one-piece tracksuit that was mainly dark green with a two black lines, one on the left and one on the right, going down the sides of his body, his arms, and his legs. "I couldn't find any of the fancy doo-dads that went with the rest of your costume, but I figured you'd probably find a way to get the rest of the pieces. You're smart and independent like that, after all."

Izuku wordlessly pulled his mother into a hug.

"... You know, while I'm in U.A., this will probably get tattered and torn time and time again. But I'll keep it with me as a symbol, because I know you'll be with me, supporting me every step of the way. " And they stood like that for a while.

* * *

Current…

" **My, my!** " At the foot of a large faux-city, All Might stood waiting for the students to arrive. He saw them, all in a v-formation, striding confidently. " **They say the clothes make the man, greenhorns. And right now, you all look like fine Heroes!** " He took a moment to discover Izuku's costume.

Its base was the simple green-and-black tracksuit Ms. Midoriya gave to her son. On his hands were white gloves, studded near the knuckles and reaching halfway down his forearm. His elbows and shoulders had similarly-colored-and-studded pads covering them. Two red straps crossed over his body, connected to an x-shaped holster holding two metal rods and tying down a red-and-white chest guard. His legs, despite still carrying around those odd red sneakers, had black shin-and-knee guards covering it. Around his waist was a red utility belt, and covering his forehead was a red-and-white protector connected to earpieces on his ear. All Might noted how they kind of looked like rabbit ears, especially with how the forehead protector almost looked like the top half of a rabbit's face.

He must've been born in the year of the rabbit.

" **Well, now, that's enough of that. Let's get it started, then… the Battle Training!** "

* * *

" **Alright, Team A! Midoriya and Yaoyoruzu! You will be the Heroes in today's mock exercise. Meanwhile, our Villain team will be… Team D, Bakugou and Tokoyami!** " That instantly set off alarm bells in Izuku's head. He and Bakugou met eyes, and they both instantly understood that they were going to throw down and test what the other was capable of in combat. It wasn't going to be like the schoolyard scraps they had with each other in Junior High; this was going to be a battle between two Quirk users, in claustrophobic corridors and hallways instead of open courtyards. There was also the added stress of this being a graded task they were going to do right in front of All Might.

Izuku wondered whether the Explosion user would hold back or not, whether he would let his anger fly off the handle or not. The barely-restrained inferno raging in Bakugou's eyes told him now.

As the two teams made their way to their designated locations- the Villain team inside a building with a paper mache bomb and the Hero team outside the building, waiting to infiltrate it- Izuku bumped his fists together.

"Alright, get those negative thoughts out of your head, Izuku. You and Yaoyorozu are going to do great on this. Speaking of which, Yaoyorozu?" The girl he was with, who had black hair tied into a wide ponytail and a well-endowed chest, looked to him.

"Yes?" The boy blushed a little- her costume consisted of a very short skirt and a very open sleeveless red vest, so he was a bit shy about it.

"From what I gathered, your Quirk lets you create things from the molecules in your body, which is probably why your outfit is like that. Er, regardless, is there a limit to what you can create?"

"Yes, there is. I can only create objects if I know their chemical formulas, and I create the objects from lipids in my body. I can only create so many objects before I pass out." The martial artist smiled.

"Great! Okay, do you know how to make a high-power flashlight and antiperspirant spray with a lot of pressurized air inside it? Kacchan- I mean, Bakugou- is someone I've known for a long time. His Quirk allows his palms to emit a sweat similar in composition to nitroglycerin, which he can then detonate. Meanwhile, Tokoyami and I both took the regular entrance exam in the same areas, and I noticed how he would often stay near shaded portions. Considering this, and the name of his Quirk, which _is_ 'Dark Shadow' I believe that his power is dependent on how much ambient light there is, with higher levels making his Quirk weaken." His companion stared at him with some small amount of admiration, amusement, and just general positive feelings.

"I see- those are effective counters to our classmate's abilities. You're quite observant, Midoriya." He began to inspect the guards around his limbs and face.

"Analyzing Quirks and strategy puzzles are hobbies of mine- they keep the mind exercised and sharpened." He paused and considered something before he opened his mouth again. "Speaking of which, something I've been picking up is 'personality analysis'- something to help me predict how a person will act given enough interaction. Like I said, I've known Kacchan for a long time- he's competitive and unrelenting in pursuing goals. He prefers to do things on his own. He's also prideful, and I might've nicked his pride and stirred his competitive fire just a little bit some time ago. It's just a little bit, but it's enough that I'm certain he'll try to exclusively target me for the duration of the match." The Creatist held her chin in her hand.

"In this exercise, that would make him like a villain with a grudge. I'm guessing that your plan is to confront him yourself, buying time for me to incapacitate Tokoyami using the flashlight and reach the bomb, correct? I don't think that would be a good idea, to just split up like that for the Trial. There could be instances where it would be better to have us both in the same room." Finding that his guards were satisfactory, he began to feel his rods.

"See, we won't be split up- at least, not for long. As much as I want to, I don't really intend on having me and Kacchan slug each other for the duration of the Trial. I'd rather find a way to lose him in the building, or to quickly tie him up using the capture tape we were given. But, if it comes to it, then I might have to just fight him for a while." After a few practice swings, he felt that the rods were alright and he reholstered them. "Besides, I want to know more about what you and Tokoyami can do, and since Tokoyami's Dark Shadow makes him a two-man fighting team it would be better to have backup." With a sigh, the girl created the flashlight and the anti-perspirant spray. Just in case, she also made two flashbangs.

"Well… I will admit, it somewhat sounds like you know what you're doing." She tossed him the anti-perspirant. The moment he caught it, a voice over a speaker-system sounded off that it was time for the trial to begin.

"Alright, then. Let's go, Yaoyorozu!"

* * *

Both teens were tense as they walked through the halls of the empty building. Izuku knew that Bakugou was roaming the halls too, trying his best to look for the two of them, or at least listen for the sounds of footsteps approaching. After hearing how loud their feet were, Yaoyorozu made them sound-dampening cloth they wrapped around their footwear.

There was also the chance that Tokoyami and his Quirk would also be looking for them, but the pair reasoned that there would be at least one person guarding the bomb- if not the Explosioneer, then their bird-headed classmate. They also theorized the lights in the bomb room would be dimmed down to maximize Tokoyami's Quirk.

As they rounded another corner, they heard something- footsteps. Since their own feet were mostly silenced, that meant this would be either Bakugou or Tokoyami- most likely Bakugou. As Izuku concentrated on pinpointing where the sound was coming from, he saw that Yaoyorozu gave him a note. It read that they were going to change plans a little; they would try and get him trapped in some sort of net first, then try and capture him, and if that failed, they'd go back to Izuku's plan. He nodded to the plan, and the girl made the net.

The net clanged onto the floor.

The footsteps stopped, and they started hearing explosions instead. And the sounds got closer and closer.

That helped Izuku, a little, since he could finally tell that Bakugou was in the hallway just around the corner- a perfect place to trap him with a net!

" _Found you, asswipes!_ " With a roar, the living missile rounded the corner, and was immediately tackled by a net. "Oh you think so? _Screw you!_ " Reacting immediately, he grabbed the net's outer edge and, using an explosion to spin himself, threw it over and behind him. The explosion also shot him towards Izuku.

"Yaoyorozu!" The martial artist exclaimed as he dodged powerful right hook from the Explosioneer. "Go on ahead!"

"Right!" She sidestepped the two boys and made her way down the hall before disappearing out of sight. Izuku watched her go a little before he returned his attention to Kacchan and took out his rods. With a similar fire in his eyes, Bakugou got into a stance, explosive palms fully on display.

"You should worry more about yourself, Deku. You're about to get your ass beat again, you know? And you tote that Quirk around as if it could actually change the outcome a bit… ha!" They began to circle each other.

"As much as I'd like to show my worth as the Deku whose name means 'You can do it,' this _is_ a graded thing, Kacchan. Besides, a 5-minute timer is hardly enough time for a full-on brawl. Tying you up quickly, so I could help my partner? It's more than enough."

"Just try it then!" He blasted his way towards Izuku, knee out and aimed at Izuku's nose. Using a rod, he parried the knee up and above his head. The other baton was used to jab at the explosion user, but he used explosions to spin midair, veering the shaft off-course and allowing him to aim an explosion directly in Izuku's face. The martial artist cocked a stick back, and they hit each other at the same time, sending them both flying down their corridors.

Bakugou felt his cheek, which had a stinging sort of pain. He was used to Izuku's fighting styles, armed and unarmed- what he wasn't used to was metal in his face and the martial artist's new strength. Conversely, the broccoli marveled at how he didn't hurt as much as before he received his Quirk. Before, a couple of blasts from the blonde would have ended their schoolyard scraps, but now One For All was letting his body withstand the force and heat. Still, he wondered at how much stronger Bakugou's explosions were compared to the ones from Junior High.

He had no time for reflections as Bakugou shot himself forward again. Kacchan went for a blast to the body, which was redirected when Izuku kicked the palm. He used the momentum to land a spin kick on Bakugou's face before kicking and kneeing him a few more times.

The blonde used an explosion to break up the combo and countered with his own series of knee strikes and elbow strikes before blowing his combatant away. Rather than allowing himself to take the full blast, Izuku somersaulted backwards with the attack, reducing its effectiveness. Upon landing, he saw the blonde rush at him with another explosion.

Gripping something on the ground, he waited until the Explosioneer was close enough before bounding upwards. He pulled up half of the net he had in his hands with him, catching Bakugou in it before he used gravity to help completely wrap the Explosion user.

 _Gotta get out that capture tape… where is it?_ As he fumbled around his pockets, his ex-childhood-friend blasted the net off of him before holding out a pair of objects in his hand. They were rolls of capture tape- one was his, the other one was Izuku's.

"We don't need these- why tie you up when I can knock you out?" One hand exploded, burning the roll in it to ashes. Before the other one could follow suit, Izuku quickly threw one of his truncheons at the roll, knocking it out of his hand and sending it flying some meters behind him. Izuku ran by Bakugou while he was distracted, retrieving one of his weapons while resheathing the other one so he could grab the tape.

"Oh no you don't!" With some difficulty, Bakugou grabbed one of the martial artist's arms, pulling him back in and readying a right hook. Izuku countered by stepping in with the pull, forcing him closer than Bakugou intended and allowing him to momentarily stun the Explosioneer with a headbutt. He used this distraction to rush for the capture tape.

He grabbed it just in time to dodge a kick from his opponent. He used the opening to wrap the leg in some capture tape, before using it to throw his adversary into a wall. As he went in to wrap up the rest of him, Bakugou used an explosion to burn away the capture tape on his leg while launching an attack at Izuku. Izuku backflipped away, and landed in a crouch with his hand on the floor. His earpiece went off.

" _This is Yaoyorozu- I've encountered Tokoyami and the bomb! Requesting assistance!_ " He could hear her struggling to fend off the other student's attacks.

"Bakugou doesn't wanna make this easy. Tell me the floor and section of the building you're in."

" _Third floor- nngh! East-southeastern section of the- hngh!- building._ "

"We're directly under that! Stick to the edges of the room, if possible- I'm going to make an expressway elevator!"

" _So, you're going to make a giant hole right above you? That's an alright idea, but try and get here soon, please!_ " Izuku rolled away from an explosion. As he did, he felt something in his pocket that he had forgotten about- something very helpful to his plan. Pocketing the capture tape, he brandished a single rod, and made his way over to Kacchan.

He swung his limbs at the martial artist, each blow accentuated with a forceful kaboom. In return, the martial artist parried each one to the best of his ability- since he only wielded the one rod at the moment, he got hit several times, but he also managed to deal some blows in return.

When Kacchan started to turn himself around to do a spinning attack, time went slow. With confidence and determination, Izuku grabbed the item from his pocket, and held it in front of him. As Kacchan completed his turn, his eyes widened in surprise- it was a spray-can filled with antiperspirant, aimed right at his oncoming palms. Izuku sprayed it, and any bead of sweat that was on his opponent's hands was blown away by the pressurized air, while the antiperspirants worked their magic, blocking the teen's pores. By the time Bakugou's hands were in front of Izuku's face, the sweat was gone, and not even a single crackle of explosive power remained.

"You… you cheater! _You fucking cheater!_ "The blonde's eyes held volcanic fury in them. How dare the person in front of him do this? This was a fight, damn it! They were supposed to be seeing how strong they were against each other, not this! The strong don't bring guns to a fistfight, and they don't let others- like that fucking Ponytail. A blunt weapon? Alright, let it slide- he has ranged weapons of his own in his sweat pores, so trying to even the distance with a stick or nunchuck or staff is fine. But a bottle of _Swaxe_? Nerfing others instead of trying to buff yourself? Bullshit!

"Like I said, Kacchan, this is a graded assignment. Were it an actual match, I wouldn't think about using it against you, but since both our grades are riding on this, I figured it'd be better to not let you rampage as you please. Besides, in this sort of situation- bomb threat, separated from partner, etc.- you should focus on more than the fighter in front of you." At first, the blonde gnashed his teeth together, and was ready to let expletives howl before he remembered something. A smile formed on his face, and it unnerved the wielder of One For All.

"Alright. I'll play your game. You don't want me sweating from my palms? Fine. But I'll tell you something, Deku- if the people that made my costume made it right," He held his palm out in front of him. With his other palm, he fished out a pin hidden on his grenade-shaped bracer. "Then this will have a shitton of my stored sweat in it! And when I pull this trigger, Deku, you better hope your useless-ass Quirk will save you!"

" **Young Bakugou!** " All Might, who had been monitoring the teens, screamed into all of their earpieces. " **Stop that attack** _ **before you accidentally kill him!**_ "

"HE WON'T DIE IF HE DOESN'T GET HIT!" Bakugou pulled the trigger.

A massive explosion shook the building, plowing through concrete in an almost perfect vertical direction. At the last second, right before the trigger was pulled, the martial artist Boosted his legs up to 14% and rushed his classmate. While bending backward, he used a rod to swipe Bakugou's arm towards the ceiling.

He did not escape the blast without injury- most of his outfit from the chest-up was burn off, while any head-and-chest gear was knocked off. Still, despite the scratches from the debris and all the uncomfortable heat, Izuku was smiling. Who wouldn't smile from seeing Kacchan's angrily shocked face as he realized where Izuku aimed his blast at.

"Fucking Deku…"

"Like I said, I'd prefer a real fight over this, but the bomb and my partner are the priorities right now." Quickly distracting the blonde with a knee to the face, Izuku took off upwards with a hop, a skip, and a jump. He bounded off the walls, climbing up to the third floor.

He saw that the room he was in had most of the windows closed, and were it not for the hole in the ceiling the place would be very dimly lit. To his right he saw Yaoyorozu, who was exhausted and slightly bruised but otherwise still standing on her feet- albeit supported with a metal bo staff she made for herself- clearly surprised about what just happened. As equally surprised as her was their corvid-headed classmate Tokoyami, as well as his sentient Quirk Dark Shadow. Both had their beaks wide open at what was unfolding before them. Behind them was their target, the paper mache bomb.

Ignoring the two for now, Izuku motioned to his partner in the exercise, holding out a hand to her. "Fastball special!" Snapping out of her momentary stupor, the girl held out the end of her staff, letting Izuku take hold of it. With it in hand, and her holding onto it for dear life, Izuku threw it and Yaoyorozu towards where the bomb was.

"Ack! Dark Shadow!"

"A- Ah! Yeah! Get back here!"

"Stay put, Tokoyami!" With a grunt, Izuku threw a baton right in front of Dark Shadow, halting it for a bit. The Quirk and it's Quirk Master saw that it was connect to eh capture tape, with the sticky side facing them. Izuku threw the rest of the roll to the side- the baton stuck in the ground with capture tape wrapped around it forced the rest of the roll to encircle the young master of shadows and his Quirk, wrapping them up like mummies.

Suddenly, Bakugou burst up from the bottom floor, having used several mini canisters of explosive sweat he pre-prepared to blast himself up. He was mad, and right before he was about to let it be known that he was made, an electronic bell sounded. Everyone looked and saw Yaoyorozu hanging onto the paper mache bomb, almost hugging it.

" **THE BATTLE TRIAL IS OVER! TEAM A, THE HEROES, WIN!** "

* * *

Omake: Momo's Bizarre Adventure

"Oh? So, you're approaching me, even knowing about the powers my Stand, Dark Shadow, possess? It's as if we're taking our entrance exams again, and you're an examinee scrambling to finish the problems before the clock counts down to zero." Diokage Brandokoyami stood menacingly in front of the paper mache bomb he was guarding. His Stand, a very muscular purple humanoid thing with a bird's head, was posing dramatically next to him.

In front of him stood a lone girl, dressed in nothing more than a short skirt and a red vest that exposed a lot of skin… as well as a black longcoat draped over her (currently crossed) arms and shoulders like a cape, and a black cap that was tattered at the back. This was Jomomo Kujorozu, a classmate of Brandokoyami attending the same school: U.A. Acadamememia for Stand-using Heroes. Next to her stood a humanoid female-ish being of a slender, yet muscular, build. It was tall as her, and had what appeared to be boots, gauntlets, a skirt, and a crop top. The top of its head had a crown-like protrusion on it, and its face was a face. It was primarily colored a pale red-pink, with a darker and more redder hue on its "clothes." This was her stand, Strawberry Creation.

"I have to get closer to knock you out, don't I? Our partners clash several floors below us, out of sight. In the event that my ally, Izukusuke Midorigashikata, fails to defeat your ally, Kiratsuki Yoshikugou, then I need to pick up his slack like a stalker collecting the discarded water bottles of their crush."

"Hmm. Surely you know your Stand's ability to create doesn't hold a candle to the raw speed and power of my Stand."

"Tch." With a snap of her fingers, the girl had her Stand create massive metal cestuses that covered the entirety of its arms. "You sure like to talk a lot about your Stand's power. It's just a shame that, by the time we're through with you…

You won't even have the power to stand up." With a flourish, both stands rushed at each other, each one throwing a flurry of punches while crying out KAWKAWKAWKAWKAW and CREEEATITITITITITI.

* * *

 **A/N: Screw the A/N I'm tired.**

 **Here you go, enjoy the chapter if you want. Or not. It's pretty mediocre anyways, especially the first half.**

 **See ya.**


	11. Filler Chapter 1

"Dude! You and Bakugou were really going at it. It was like some sorta martial-arts movie!" Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami, Midoriya and Bakugou walked into an observation room where the rest of their class, as well as All Might, waited. They watched the Battle Trial- no audio, video only- and got pumped up from seeing the teams fight. Izuku held a hand up in a 'stop' sign to his plain-faced classmate Hanta Sero.

"No, it wasn't like that. You don't have to give the two of us so much praise."

"Really, man? Are you sure? Those were some pretty sick moves that you and Bakugou dished out."

"No, really, stop. Kacchan was trying to go full throttle from the start, but I kept on holding us back. Neither of us were really all that focused on the fight, so it didn't really feel all that intense." The person he knew since childhood was growling in the corner. "Oh please, Kacchan. Your mind was clouded. You would've noticed me trying to pull out the antiperspirant."

"I FUCKING KNOW. That's part of the reason why I'm pissed. That, and the fact you _held back_." He stalked over to where Izuku was, and stood straight. His eyes bored into Izuku's, Izuku's into his. He could barely hear their pink-skinned classmate Ashido asking them to get a room. "When the time comes, I'm finally gonna teach you that you and your Quirk won't surpass me."

"Hmm." They broke eye contact with each other. Kacchan went back to his corner and Midoriya went back with the other students. He sighed. "I wonder how long it's going to take before he treats me with less, uh, poison in our rivalry?"

"Didn't seem that bad to me."

"You wouldn't know, Ashido." She turned to look at the brooding blonde.

"You know, he looks lonely over there. Ooh! Maybe a couple of nice smiles can help him chill more, huh?"

"I'm totally with you on that, Ashido!" With a bit of reluctance, Kirishima looked out the corner of his eye towards Izuku, wondering if his friend harboured any sort of ill will towards him interacting with Bakugou. He never really saw much interaction between the pair, and all he's seen are the two arguing- even during their encounter with that villain on the day Izuku awakened his Quirk. He received a thumbs up and a so-so gesture: Go for it, I don't really care.

As Kirishima went to stand with Ashido and Bakugou, Izuku and the other two from the Battle Trial stood at attention before All Might.

" **Excellent work, students! You all did a fine job during the Trial. However, there were also flaws to each and every one of you during the trial. Young Yaoyorozu: you underestimated the combat abilities of your opponent and did not attempt to capitalize more on the weaknesses of young Tokoyami's Quirk. During your encounter, you had multiple openings to create more effective equipment, but you did not take many of those chances. Still, the openings you did exploit were all for the better, and your skills in the match were very decent, especially with someone whose Quirk is not combat-oriented. You should work more on being able to think on the spot, especially with such a versatile Quirk such as yours.** "

"Yes, sir, All Might."

" **Young Bakugou: I understand wanting to settle old scores, but you didn't need to leave behind both your partner** _ **and**_ **the target you were supposed to protect. Your extreme tenacity can be an advantage over weaker-willed opponents, but in a situation like this it helped cause your failure to protect the target. I suggest working on trying to keep that explosive temper under control; an explosive isn't good if it detonates at the wrong time.** " The teen just grunted.

" **Young Tokoyami: I commend you for being able to hold the fort while your partner was out of reach. Still, don't think I didn't see you struggling with handling Dark Shadow during your bout with young Yaoyorozu. Your Quirk's weaknesses showed today; work on going beyond those weaknesses! Plus Ultra!** "

"The darkness is still just beyond my reach."

" **Now, Young Midoriya: It was a good idea to take advantage of your opponent's mentality, but you won't always have that advantage in the future. Meanwhile, while your quick thinking and luck secured you the win, there was no telling if you would hit young Yaoyorozu or not- with an explosion that massive, you could've easily brought harm to her. Even though you had ordered her to remain by the side of the room to avoid the blast, a battle is unpredictable, and there was the chance she would be forced more towards the center. Along with that, you could've hit the bomb.** " Like his blonde classmate, Izuku didn't say anything, but the grunt he made was more contemplative than annoyed. All Might still smiled inwardly, though; he was kind of proud of his pupil for showing up Bakugou a bit.

" **Now that we've had this trial evaluated, you all should learn from your classmates' mistakes when we get to your trials. After all, experience is the best teacher, which is part of the reason why you'll find that U.A.'s Heroics Course will be more hands-on than other classes. Now, enough dawdling; it's time for the next trial!"**

* * *

While everyone enjoyed watching, and learning, from the other battle trials, none were more glued to the screen than Izuku. The class's Quirky students were all excellent note-taking material, and not just their abilities. Izuku knew he'd need to work with these people throughout his time at U.A., and so he also began to compile notes on their personalities. Sure, he'd learn about their personal tics and habits throughout the year, but why not get a head start?

After making quick sketches of them in their costumes, and trying to make sense of some of the design choices, he put down his bullet-point notes of Quirk abilities and usage, followed by comments about personality. He reserved a spot for weaknesses of Quirks; unless they popped up during the exam, he'd write them down later, based on guesswork and knowledge of how things worked.

Since they were the ones he was with in the battle trial, he already started on Yaoyorozu- smart, critical, wants people to succeed- and Tokoyami- chuunibyou, stoic, noble emo. Creation of objects and Dark Shadow to make sure no fight is one-on-one. He also already started a page on Uraraka- kind to a fault but still willing to point out error, very focused, Zero Gravity with a nausea limit- from when they met during the entrance exam.

Currently, he was trying to work on the participants of the current match: Perverted adhesive-spehre Mineta Minoru, bubbly Acidic Mina Ashido, blunt and Froggy Tsuyu Asui, and rockin' Earphone Jack sound wave Kyouka Jirou. This was after he noted how Todoroki froze a whole building with Tooru the Invisible Girl pouting by the sidelines while hardhead Kirishima and Sugar-Rush-Strong Sato tried to break through. This was also after matches with Sero, Kaminari, Shoji, Ojiro, Aoyama, Iida, and Koda. Each Quirk was interesting, and each one was used effectively and creatively to counter each other; each personality was cool to decipher, and also a nice challenge for the greenie.

Still, time passes, and the Trials did too. Each student walked out of that monitor room, some more battered than others, but all more knowledgeable and more experienced- especially those with no combat ability at all.

After that, classes passed by normally, and the school day eventually ended. At dusk, each student made preparations to go home, except for those already on their way home.

For example, Katsuki Bakugou.

For example 2, Midoriya Izuku.

"Eh? What the hell are you doing here, you fuck? Get lost and go home already!" Izuku was standing directly in front of him, blocking his way to the train station. His eyes were as defiant as ever, but they were also doing something. They were searching for something; Kacchan couldn't tell what it was, but he saw those eyes enough in their youth to know the martial artist was looking for something with those eyes.

"... You know, Kacchan, I noticed something in there. In the monitor room. You were paying a lot of attention to some of our classmates and their abilities. I saw you grunt in approval, raise a single eyebrow at things… and I even saw the shocked look on your face when Todoroki froze the entire building."

"Tch. What are you getting at, you shitty stalker?" Izuku remained quiet for a moment, still deciphering his classmate with those eyes. He eventually closed his and sighed.

"What's it going to take, Kacchan? What'll it take for you to stop looking at me like some pebble at the side of the road?"

"Hah?" Izuku took a breath. He remembered everything he had seen during the battle trials- even what wasn't on the camera.

"I was the only you looked at with some sort of disdain, or even just looking at me like a pebble. Everyone else, once they showed why they're in the U.A. Heroics Department, and why they were able to get in, you looked differently at. Some, you probably looked at as a boulder blocking the road- something in your way, but you think that you'll probably find a way to blast through. Then, you have people that actually impressed you enough to view them as mountains to try and scale over- like Iida or Asui. Then there was the great shock that was Todoroki, who I _know_ you didn't look at as an obstacle to work around but as an actual competitor."

"Yeah, the Half-N-Half bastard's got some actual skill. And everyone else, unlike middle school, aren't useless." He snorted. "But what do they all have to do with you? Are you jealous or something?"

"Yes." That made the other teen's eyes widen, and his mouth went slightly slack-jawed. "I am jealous. I also feel insulted. You've known me for some time, so you know that it takes quite a bit to get me to vocalize and show anything like this instead of my usual methods of stress-relief like meditation or training." Bakugou, who was listening and standing still, moved forward to walk past Izuku. He stopped right next to the green-haired teen.

"Well then, do something about it, pebble." He let one of his palms spark with an explosion.

"I am. I'm here wondering what's it going to take before you can see me as a rival, like Todoroki." He heard his old acquaintance growl a bit, and he felt the teen move. Quickly, he parried an explosion-powered swing from Bakugou; they both got into stances, ready to fight.

"Ah, fuck off with your talk about rivals and shit! Get a life and stop stalking me, you ass!"

"Quit talking down to me or something and maybe I will. Don't forget- today, you lost in something to me, Kacchan. Yet, you're looking at everyone else differently- why not me?" The Explosioneer's glare intensified. "I've managed to surpass you in something! Why am I not counted as a rival too? I've proven myself, right?"

"Shut up, _shut up_ , **shut. UP!** " For a moment, Izuku thought that he and Bakugou were going to go at it for real as the other's palms erupted. That was only for a moment, however, as a final explosion rippled through the courtyard before nothing. Only sizzling palms and a very frustrated Katsuki Bakugou facing a confused martial artist. He lowered his gaze to the ground, letting his shaggy hair shadow his eyes. "Finally, I get you to close your fucking mouth for once, you piece of shit." He grit his teeth and clenched his fists.

He shot his head back upwards, letting Izuku see his frustration in all its glory- the barely restrained tears and snarls as he gnashed his teeth together. "You only won because of circumstance and outside factors, got it? You didn't really win against me! If you still keep thinking… you actually won that match… then next time I'll _beat that notion out of your head_ , just like with **everyone else** in this damned school!" He turned on his heels and continued to walk away from the school.

" _Like everyone else!_ "

Izuku, for his part, just stood there dumbfounded at his classmate's words. It took him several moments to process what he said, before he almost smiled.

 _Everyone else, huh? As in, all the boulders and mountains and actual rivals. Not just a pebble, then._ He rolled his shoulders, letting loose the tension that was in them, before he himself headed home. _One step forward at a time._

* * *

 **A/N: I needed that week-long break. So much stuff going on back at the ranch- nothing like some Rest and Relaxation!**

 **So yeah, here's this chapter. It's far from good, but it ain't too bad- it's a nice way for me to stretch these writing muscles. You know, start with something pretty short before working back up again.**

 **Now then, time to get working on the next chapter. See ya.**


	12. Who da man? Iida Man!

"It is now time to choose your classroom representatives."

As their teacher Aizawa said that, everyone in the classroom- save a few quiet people- roared with excitement. This was in spite of the fact that they were doing something that occured regularly at other high schools across Japan. Their school did things that most teens their age would consider more exciting than simple class elections, like training to rescue people from disasters. Well, this was kind of expected, considering that they thought being enrolled in the Heroics course would mean they would have to give up certain things most highschool students didn't.

That, and the fact that it would mean they're an authority figure in a group of Heroes, in a group of people competing for the top spot.

In their excitement, almost all of the class were on top of their desks, hands in the air and exclaiming 'pick me, pick me!' The cacophony subsided when Iida suggested that the class hold a democratic election to determine their class representatives.

"Eh? But then everyone would just vote for themselves! And besides, we don't really know each other all that well right now, right?" Kaminari groaned.

"Well," Izuku spoke up, "if someone did manage to get multiple votes, then that means that people trust that person enough to be able to confidently vote for someone that isn't themselves. They'd be a good fit for a leader's role." Everyone agreed, and after getting an OK from their teacher, they went ahead with the election.

"And the one with the most votes, at 4 votes, is Midoriya, our new Class Representative! And the second-most, with 3 votes in, is Yaoyorozu, our new Class Vice-Representative!" Ashido announced. The people most surprised by the outcome were Bakugou, who was fuming in the corner that Izuku got more votes than him; Yaoyorozu, for getting more than 2 votes; and Iida, since he actually got a single vote.

* * *

"A… a vote… someone actually voted for me… I expected to get out of there with no votes for me, but someone actually thinks I have the qualities of a leader. Unfortunately, that person seems to be a bit mistaken. While it is true that I have some qualities, you have more acceptable qualities for a leader, Midoriya! They're why I voted for you."

It was currently lunchtime at U.A., and the students were eating food prepared by the legendary Pro Hero/ gourmet chef Lunch Rush. The talk of the day was about the reporters swarming outside the entrance of U.A., who heard the school hired a new teacher- All Might, the number-one Pro Hero and top celebrity of Japan. That was what most students were talking about, at least. The students of a Class 1-A had a different conversation topic on hand, and it was about their class election. Some talked about what policies they would strive for ("Inch-long skirts!"), some talked about the election itself.

An example of a table that talked about the election itself was the table that seated Iida, Uraraka, Midoriya, Kirishima most of the time, and occasionally Ashido. All of which were currently congratulating Izuku on his electoral win.

"I totally agree! Deku, you're plenty strong, you're nice, and you're a really smart guy!" Uraraka chomped on some mochi. "You're going to do great."

"Yeah man!" Kirishima and Mina exclaimed. "Wait, Deku? You're okay with letting her call you that, Midoriya my guy? I thought that was a Bakugou-only thing." Kirishima shot him a questioning look.

"Yeah, I am; she's not using it in the same way as Bakugou, anyways. But still, really, guys? Look, Iida, you're pretty organized and disciplined, and have an eye for order. Plus, you've shown me that you have the ability to think fast on your feet. That's a good ability to have, Iida." The martial artist stuffed a forkful of broccoli into his mouth. "Part of the reason why I donated my vote to you. That, and how modest you can be."

"B-b-b-b-b…" The serious boy went very red-faced at hearing his friend praise him; everyone at the table chuckled at how he was taken off-guard. "But still! Your ability to think on your feet is much better than mine, and you even had the foresight to record our peers' abilities! Your analytical mind, and your heroic heart, are much better suited to the role of class representative than mine. Hence, I humbly made the choice I felt was correct." As he said that, Uraraka began to look at him weirdly.

"Hey, Iida, is your family rich or something?"

"Pfft! Rara, made you say that?" Mina barely got out through her surprised laughter. "Was it just because he talks so… like a rich person?"

"Yeah!" The student in question merely adjusted his glasses.

"I wanted to hide it since I didn't want others to know, but I indeed come from an affluent family of renowned heroes. I am the second son and younger brother of a well-known Pro-Hero." Izuku snapped his fingers in an 'aha' moment.

"I knew it, you're related to Tensei Iida, also known as the Turbo Hero, Ingenium!"

"Correct, Class Representative Midoriya! His unwavering adherence to rules and regulations, as well as his proficiency with maintaining order, are only some of his beloved traits. I admire my brother so much, it influenced my decision to become a hero!" He then took on a sad, but genuine, smile. "Unlike my brother, who leads a Hero Agency with 66 sidekicks, I'm still not ready to lead just yet. I realize that. That is why I decided to give the role to you, Midoriya."

The teen was about to argue with his peer, while also commenting on how his admiration for Ingenium was similar to him and All Might or Kirishima with Crimson Riot, before a noise pierced the air. Most of the first years were unsure about what was happening, but the upper years were beginning to panic.

"Is this an alarm‽"

"BZZT- SECURITY BREACH. LEVEL 3 SECURITY HAS BEEN BREACHED. ALL STUDENTS ARE TO EVACUATE IN AN ORDERLY FASHION."

"That answers that…" Iida gestured to a nearby running student.

"Excuse me! What is Level 3 Security‽"

"It means that someone managed to get through U.A.'s walls! Damn, this never happened in the years I've been here. Anyway, you guys need to run, too! If the walls have been breached… on this day, we may have just received a grim reminder about the horrors of villains. Anyway, first-years! Just run!" The upperclassmen took off, and the rest of the herd took off with him.

Even if the table had decided not to evacuate, they wouldn't have been able to resist the tsunami of people that crashed into them, dragging them along like an undertow. With some effort, Izuku managed to pop his head above the sea of people. He scanned the crowd for any sign of his friends, but there were too many people. He also doubted he would be able to sight any unique features of his classmates- there were too many similar-looking body parts and hairstyles in the throng of people.

Not only did sight fail him in this situation, but sound did too. There were too many voices shouting, so he couldn't make out the voices of his friends at all. He thought he could hear Uraraka and Mina screaming, but their voices were too mingled in with the crowd. He briefly wondered how Jirou was doing, given the fact her Quirk enhances her hearing, before people began to shout in his ear.

"Stop shoving!"

"I'mma fall!"

"I'm being… squished!"

"Someone get me out of here!"

"My friend's about to get trampled!"

 _There's too much panic going around! Seriously guys, at least have some confidence in U.A.'s Pro-Hero teachers and the other lines of defense… maybe not the wall. Still, what could have caused this? Who could've infiltrated U.A.? This villain has to be confident in his or her abilities if he or she thinks that a school filled with Quirked teens is a thing to target, not counting the teachers, especially All Might himself._

"... Press‽" He perked up. Izuku knew that voice. With effort, he turned himself around to see Iida pressed into a window, looking at… reporters? News anchors? Journalists and camera workers?

 _We aren't infiltrated by a villain, but just some bad mass communications?_

"Iiiiida!"

"Uraraka!" Being a strategist himself, Izuku knew the look he saw in Iida's eyes. He knew the strict speedster was planning something, probably on a way to quell everyone's fear by informing them of the situation in an attention-grabbing way. Any want of attempting something similar died down a bit as Izuku studied his friend closely. As he did, he thought to himself about his peer's reluctance to take the seat of class rep. Really, all he needed was something to boost his confidence in being a leader.

 _Could this be it?_

"Engine!" He heard, and saw, his peer's calf muzzles firing up, flinging him across the room. He looked back and saw Uraraka, slightly nauseous- she probably used her Quirk on him to make the job easier. He also heard, and saw, him splat onto the wall just above an 'exit' sign. He almost looked like the stick figure person that was on some exit signs, especially since he was above one.

As he saw Iida get everyone under control, Izuku felt a strong sense of pride in his peer.

 _Is this what All Might felt when he decided to pass One for All onto me? … Nah, but I think it's getting there._

* * *

It was the end of the day, and the class was about to go home. Before they could, Izuku went to the front of the class and cleared his throat.

"Hmph. Okay, this is going to be my first thing as current rep of this class." He looked to Aizawa for confirmation that he could do what he was about to do.

"So long as you're rational about the time you consume, I don't care."

"You're late on your speech, you damn nerd. Should have said it this morning."

"It's less a speech and more of a declaration, Kacchan. Anyways, I'd like for everyone to extend a hand towards Iida. His quick thinking calmed the mob, and helped ensure that people only received minor injuries at worst." There were whoops and clapping all around. Classmates were patting Iida's back and giving him praise. "Even if there weren't any villains involved, Iida still acted Heroically, and lead everyone back from chaos to order."

"Mi- Midoriya, that's a bit of a stretch to say. I indeed helped everyone, but I wouldn't call that mess chaos…" The speedster was blushing, and tried to hide his embarrassment by adjusting his glasses.

"But it _was_ pretty chaotic at lunch. And you _were_ Heroic. And you _did_ lead everyone." The glasses-wearing teen's eyes sparked in acknowledgement.

"Midoriya, are you-"

"Yup. You've shown excellent qualities as a leader. As such, I'd like to relinquish my position as class rep to you, Iida. You're the better choice for class rep." There was a large noise of agreement- everyone in class agreed. "Is that fine with you, Aizawa sensei?"

"Stop wasting time and get on with it." With much fanfare, the new class rep from his seat. He placed one hand behind his back, and raised the other to the sky.

"Since Midoriya is nominating me, then I accept!"

"Yeah! You're the man, Iida!"

"Do your best, exit-sign Iida! Exit-sign class rep!"

"E- exit sign?..."

"Well, yeah! You totally looked like the thing on an exit sign!" The class let loose their excitement, turning the entire thing into a noisy affair. In the noise, Izuku's eyes met Iida's. Iida, knowing that the martial artist did this as a way to raise his morale and his confidence in himself, gave him a nod in appreciation. The green-haired teen nodded back. He hiked his bag on his shoulders, and left class. While he wasn't in the classroom, he could still hear what was going on- praise and excitement.

"Class Representative Iida?" Yaoyorozu's voice carried into the halls. "I think we still need to choose the other class student council members." At that, everyone in class went 'geh!'

"That is correct, Vice-Representative Yaoyorozu. Everyone, let us not leave for home just yet- we need to hold more elections!" A collective groan resonated through the class when they realized they weren't going home anytime soon.

Well, except for Izuku. No way was he going to miss today's training session.

"Bakugou, if Midoriya has not yet left the campus, could you retrieve him and bring him back to class? I would like everyone here to vote."

"Gladly, class rep."

 _One for All: 12% Boost to the legs!_

* * *

 **A/N: "What in Gehenna is this shit? Why's it so short?"**

 **"It's only a couple hundred shorter than normal! And if you want to know, this is our version of chapter 12, between the battle trial and USJ."**

 **"Okay. Why so short?"**

 **"Because there isn't much that happens in the source material anyways."**

 **"Pad it out with more emotional junk or introspection next time, you trash heap!"**

 **... I... I can't say anything to that, that's pretty accurate.**


	13. Ripening Grapes

It was a nice Monday afternoon, and students were shuffling between their classes on U.A.'s campus. Izuku Midoriya was one such teen heading towards his next subject, and was ready to meet up with his friends when he heard something. It was a low-decibel, high-pitched repeating noise that was coming from around the corner of a wall.

 _Okay, somebody's around that corner, and they're laughing at something. This is definitely suspicious._ With a flick of the wrist, Izuku had his phone out and ready. His thumb hovered over All Might's contact information. _Since I have him on speed dial, I'll make use of it. If this person is actually a villain of some sorts, then I might need his back up._

Stealthily, Izuku latched on to the side of the wall, and began to shuffle along it, slowly nearing the corner. His sneakers were in his hands; he was holding them instead of wearing them to decrease whatever sort of noise he would make. _It kind of sucks that I can't force my heart to beat slower; if this person has a Quirk endowing them with hearing like Jiro's, then I'm already found out! At least I can still control my breathing. No shakiness, no force- light as a snoozing baby._

As he neared the edge of the corner, Izuku quickly switched apps on his phone, and went immediately to the camera app. Switching it to self-photo mode, he used it to take a peek and see that the suspicious person was…

 _Mineta?_ In all his short glory stood the smallest member of Class 1-A, Minoru Mineta. From what Izuku could remember, he could use spherical objects on his head as a way to stick things together, or use them as bounceable platforms or walls for added mobility since he can't stick to them at all. Now, he was using them to create some footholds and handholds as he peeked into a window several feet off the ground.

 _Personality traits were…_ He closed his eyes, focusing on what he remembered. _Lecher, with dirty jokes on the brain, but also an OK strategist with good study and work ethic so long as it doesn't involve women._ He opened them again to take stock of his surroundings. A fair bit away he could see what appeared to be an outside training ground similar to the one Aizawa sensei had them use during the Quirk Apprehension test. Unlike that one, this one was much smaller; it was likely used by the General Ed students for recreation or physical education.

 _So we're at a building near an open field used for physical activity, and Mineta is looking into a window while giggling to himself… How am I the only one that noticed him? Is there seriously no one else looking for the cause of some weird repetitive noise? The bystander effect sucks. Regardless, putting those facts together, along with what I know of Mineta…_ He raised a single eyebrow.

 _Is he… is he actually peeking in on the General Ed girls' changing rooms?_ He furrowed his eyebrows. _Do the changing rooms at U.A. actually have windows where people can look in? That's an odd thing to have at such a respected establishment. Well, while he isn't a villain, he is doing something that isn't very morally right… assuming he is, in fact, peeking at girls._

He rounded the corner, and boosted his legs with 5% of One For All's power. _No need to go any further than 5._ Kneeling down, he leapt upwards towards Mineta… and past him. Still, it was enough to let him see into the window Mineta was looking it. _Oh hey, he actually is peeping._ Sticking the landing, he turned back around to face Mineta.

The smaller teen was aware enough of surroundings to feel, and hear, the rush of wind produced by Izuku's jump, as well as the thump he made when he landed. In surprise, he turned to see his peer staring back at him with an unamused expression. Considering he was being somewhat glared at by one of the most physically capable people in class, Mineta was understandably frightened. Still, he didn't scream out in shock. _He's got a pretty strong will for a pervert; most people would've already given themselves away by now via screaming._

"M-M-M-M-M- Midoriya!" He whisper-screamed. "Uhrgh, hey, how's it doin? I mean, how're you going? I mean, um… um…"

"How're you doing?"

"Y-yeah… yeah, that! How're you doing?"

"Oh, I'm doing okay. You seem to be doing bad, though, Mineta. I mean, really, you're perving on the General Ed. girls." Izuku crossed his arms and stood tall, his face even. This all served to make Mineta a bit more intimidated. "What Hero does that, Mineta?"

"Sh-shut up. Stop being such a prude, Midoriya! I'm a guy, let me be a guy! Let me enjoy paradise, will ya?" His peer just sighed.

"Mineta, if I raise my voice, those General Ed. girls will come running out to see what the disturbance is. I have the speed to get out of here before being caught, but you'll be found, apprehended, and questioned by our teachers about this… event." He brandished his phone, and showed Mineta the screen. The grape's eyes widened as he realized the entire thing had been recorded on Izuku's phone. "And, if I ever feel like it, I could show people this video for irrefutable evidence. However…"

He clicked the 'end recording' button and pocketed the cellular device. Mineta stood there shocked while the martial artist calmly walked by him. "I'm willing to give you a chance, little guy. After all, this is only one incident, and no one was damaged mentally or physically because of this. No property was destroyed, either. Just don't be too perverted, and I might not have to bring this up with a teacher. You could really get in hot water for this type of behaviour, Mineta." He waved 'bye' to him. "I've gotta get to class. I'll be seeing you around, Mineta."

As Izuku walked away from the other teen, who was busy trying to scrape his balls off the school walls to get rid of evidence, He kept on thinking about what just transpired.

The thing is, he could see that Mineta had good potential to be a great Hero; he managed to get through the entrance exams, after all, showing that he knew how to use his Quirk in combat situations. He also showed he knew how to use his abilities in less violent applications- making a hold like that, or even a ladder of spheres, could work well in various rescue scenarios. He also had good sneakiness, since the sun was out and he was in view of a public space and he was giggling pretty loudly yet Izuku was the only one who noticed him. There is also no discounting how smart he is in class.

The only problem, really, is that he has no idea how to put a lid on his perversion. Like he said earlier, it was kind of normal for guys to think lewd thoughts (not like Izuku was going to share any). He also noticed how guys were sometimes okay with telling each other… questionable jokes and comments, but those were in private settings free from the ears of girls, like in locker rooms, and generally always around guys that were comfortable with each other. Dirty jokes shared with girls are fine too, if not excessive and if the girl in question is fine with the joke.

Just, Mineta didn't have to openly stare at women while drooling rivers of saliva. He didn't have to make out-loud-comments that should stay in his head about female figures in public. He didn't have to mention anything about his fetishes and stuff like that (poor Shouji).

And he certainly did not have to peek in on women while changing. Well, unless they were in a licensed and regulated magazine, but the General Ed. girls aren't, so no.

Izuku knew that threatening to tell the teachers was temporary, so he tried thinking of many ways to help out the grape-like boy in the long term. Still, many ideas were just stopgap methods, outside of direct counseling. But he wanted to help out Mineta in a way that Mineta discovers how to hold back his lust by himself, not with an unlicensed, underadged therapist.

 _I guess I could try combining them all into a long-term plan. But still, where to start, where to start…_ When Izuku saw a familiar, and distinct, mop of hair, he knew he found his starting line.

* * *

It was now Tuesday, and Izuku was walking down the hall, headed towards one of his classes when he saw Mineta duck into the men's bathroom.

 _A perfect spot. Now then, where- ah, there!_ With a hand wave, he caught the attention of his target: Shoto Todoroki. He gestured to the bathroom, and they went inside. They found the place empty, except for one locked stall. Taking a disposable water bottle and poking a hole into the lid, Izuku started to pour it into a urinal. He handed Todoroki one, and he did the same.

"Ah, hey, Todoroki! How are you doing?"

"Hmph. Fine. And you?"

"I've been doing ok. But I have been confused since last night about something regarding you."

"And… that is?"

"Your family name. Todoroki. Would you mind if I asked you about something?"

"... Is it related to Endeavor?"

"Yes. Are you related in any way?"

"... I wish not. Sadly, I am his son. But I hate him. He doesn't deserve his ranking as the No. 2 Pro Hero in Japan. He doesn't even deserve the title Hero. He's more like a glorified vigilante."

"Alright, I won't press further into any personal business you have. Still, I can kind of agree with you. Sure, he's solved- and is still solving- more criminal cases than any other recorded Hero, but he has a terrible public image. He's so rude and brash, and doesn't even acknowledge whoever he saves. He doesn't even have a lot of missions under his belt where he just helps people, like in disaster relief. Not a good hero, not like All Might."

"Hmph. From what I know about you, you have a good knowledge of Pro Heroes. Is there any in particular you have a great distaste of, besides Endeavor?" They finished pouring out their bottles and went to the bathroom sink. There, they began to fake-wash their hands.

"So many posers and stuff… I think one of the ones I dislike the most is a guy named Christopher Skyline, also known as Captain Celebrity. Well, the old Captain Celebrity, at least."

"'Old' Captain Celebrity?"

"Let me explain. Christopher Skyline was the America's No. 1 Pro Hero for a while until he ruined his own public image. See, he had trouble controlling how much he loved women, and after numerous allegations and testimonies of doing things like attempted gropings and peeking in women's' baths, he lost his ranking. No one in America would even report missions to him because everyone was so worried about what he might do. People started to call him the 'Flying Pig' because of everything. Even his wife, someone very close to him and generally very supportive of him, divorced him. So, he had to flee to a different country, not just to escape everything but also to find a job.

He decided on coming to Japan, and he kind of made a good name for himself, but he was still a lecher and he still got into legal issues here in Japan. Eventually, he came to realize on his own that he needed help in handling his actions, so he hired someone to help him fix his perverted ways- or, at least, keep a tight lid on them. So, he learned from that person and tried his best to raise positive public opinion of him.

Eventually, his deeds managed to get him within the top 150 Japanese Heroes, After that, he thanked his old mentor, and decided to go back to America to start over. He's still trying to rebuild his good name, but it's taken him over a decade to get back within America's top 200 as the No. 198 Pro Hero, so it'll take a while for him to recover from damages to his reputation." They turned off the faucets.

"I understand now, Midoriya. You hated the 'old' Captain Celebrity for his terrible acts, but you like the 'new' one that's trying to better himself."

"Exactly! He's trying his best to be a good person and make up for what he did! I mean, it's still pretty bad that he did all those things in the first place, but now he's working on digging his way out of the steep hole he dug for himself. He's showing Heart in trying to change, he's showing Hard Work in how he's fighting his reputation, and since he's been fighting it for this long, he has Discipline too.

He's definitely on the track to becoming a good Hero again." The two of them walked out of the bathroom, and walked a few more feet away from it before Todoroki whispered.

"Do you really think Mineta was able to hear all that?"

"It isn't a matter of whether Mineta heard it or not. It's a matter of what Mineta will do with the information we just provided. Is he willing to change himself? Or is he not going to grow past himself? We'll see when the time comes. Ah, also, sorry about bringing up your relationship with Endeavor."

"I'm… I'm okay with it." Izuku stared at his classmate's contemplative, downcast face.

 _No, he really isn't. Still, I have one issue on my hands already; I'll see to helping Todoroki later._

* * *

Later that day, during an exercise for their Heroics course, there was a wardrobe malfunction of sorts. Ashido's acid managed to accidentally melt a little bit of Tsuyu's costume, especially around the chest area.

To the shock of the class, Mineta offered his cape to the girl as a way to cover herself up around the chest- and he even managed to look away while doing so! That being said, his nose was very bloody, and he asked for her to return the cape to him later. He did add, after that little slip, that it should be thoroughly washed and dried first.

When the rest of the class went to check on them, Kaminari asked the little grape if he needed to go see Recovery Girl. As the grape tried to fend off various comments, either of confused praise, confused worry, or confused wariness, he didn't notice that there were only two students not joining the interrogation.

And they were both smiling a bit.

* * *

 **A/N: "It's still a shit chapter, but the premise and story is okay. Execute it better next time, will ya?"**

 **"Is... is this praise?"**

 **"Yes. Yes it is. But's also a criticism, got it?"**

 **I think this is the first time I've ever been so satisfied with a chapter. Even though the quality is poor.**

 **Darkchaser: Eat shit, asshole! Fall off your horse! (Johnny best JoJo fight me on it)**

 **D3lph0xL0v3r and Run0nSentences: If you're still reading up to this point, then sorry, yeah, Izuku has OfA. There's a reason for it that will be revealed eventually, but yeah sorry. Also, Dragon Jumpsuit is meant to be my take on Bruce Lee, but since Might Guy is also a take on Bruce Lee, that isn't too far off a mental image.**

 **thatoneclosetfan: YES! YES! YES! OH MY GOD!**

 **MrNeedsToRemoveAllFavs: LET ME SELF DEPRECIATE, DAMMIT ALL!**

 **Ok, bye!**


	14. Please, Let This be a Normal Field Trip?

It was a nice Wednesday morning, and Izuku was taking the train to school. He had his phone out, and was checking his newsfeed to see that All Might had a busy morning dealing with criminals and other incidents.

 _I really hope he isn't pushing himself. His wounds make it so that he can't maintain his real strength for too long. That's on top of the fact that he transferred One for All's power to me and he's just using the leftovers. I wonder if he'll even be able to teach today- we can't have any of the students see his skeletal form. Especially Kirishima and Kacchan- they'll connect the dots too easily and see a connection between me and All Might._

 _Well, whatever happens, I'm pretty sure having a lack of All Might in today's Heroics class is going to make things interesting._

* * *

"Alright! **Rescue training**!" Shouted several students in preparation for that day's special Heroics class. Every day until now has been doing something related to combat or some type of physical ability, whether it be speed or power or something in the middle. This was something different, and so most of the students were excited.

Also, the training would happen on a place where they needed a bus for transportation, so they were a bit more excited. This was on top of the fact that they were going to receive education from three different Pro Heroes: Aizawa, All Might, and another person whose name was not revealed to them.

Everyone was waiting outside, staring at the bus that would take them to their special training session. They were all wearing their Hero costumes.

"Everyone!" _Phweet! Phweet!_ Iida blew a whistle. "Now that the bus has arrived, we must board it in an orderly fashion! Line up according to your classroom seat numbers and begin to fill in the each of the rows of the bus in a calm and completely not chaotic manner."

"Class representative, I don't think we can do that very well- look at the seating arrangements of this bus."

"Class Vice Representative Yaoyorozu, what do you mean?" He looked inside, saw the interior of the bus was not completely in rows but had half of its seats on the sides, and then deflated. He let everyone board the bus however they wanted, and then the bus took off towards their destination.

"Ribbit," Tsuyu attracted almost everyone's attention. "I've seen you take notes on everyone, so you should know that I tend to speak my mind a lot, Midoriya." The martial artist just looked at her. "Your Quirk is very reminiscent of All Might's." He scoffed at that.

"Nah. Wait, actually, in a way, yeah. Minus the electricity and the glowing body parts, that is. But you are right in that our Quirks both enhance our physical abilities, although my enhancements are weaker since I haven't trained with my Quirk as long as others have."

"You say that, but your super-strength Quirk is still awesome, bro! I remember when you used it on the beach all those months ago. That was amazing, man! Shucks that you can't use the same power you used back then, otherwise you'd be like a smaller, greener, All Might." A couple of the other students looked at the red-and-green combo with slightly wide eyes.

"Wait-wait-wait, you have that much power? Really? Why haven't we seen this before then, Midoriya?"

"Because I can break my bones if I use a power output I'm not used to yet. In case you're all wondering, right now I can use 7% before my body begins to feel pain."

"Mon ami, I know that feeling. When you have a flashy Quirk comme le mien, but then the flashiness is too much and it blinds the body! I feel it every time I fire my Navel Laser for too long, mon estomac feels pain. But that is a necessary sacrifice on the shining road to becoming a Pro Hero, especially one with such a shining positive image like mine!"

"Ribbit, that's true. Good Pro Heroes tend to have good public images. Most of us here fit the bill for being a positive role model… except for Bakugou. He's pretty unhinged."

" **What the fuck did you just say?** " Izuku just nodded along.

"Yup, he is. Kacchan's been like that since we were kids."

" **Deku, I'll explode your Dick-u off!** "

* * *

When the bus dropped them off, each student was amazed at their location. The entire area was the size of a small town, and was split into several sections. One was a large pool or manmade lake containing a boat, rocks, and several other boats that looked half-capsized. Another looked like a mountain road that suffered a landslide, one looked like a burning city, one looked like a ruined city. In fact, it looked like a mishmash of various scenes in a disaster movie spread out across a town-sized area.

"Woah! It's like looking at a movie! Are we at Universal Studios Japan right now?" Jirou whipped Kaminari with one of her extendable Earphone Jacks.

"Dumbass, why would we go to USJ for a lesson?"

"Exactly!" The students looked to the source of the voice: it was a person dressed in what looked like a spacesuit, but with a unique helmet that completely encapsuled the wearer's head in a glass dome. Only the eyes were visible. The image projected by the suit was someone ruined by the wearer's decision to where bright yellow sneakers instead of space boots, but that was okay, since most of them knew they were dealing with a Pro Hero.

"Oh my god, oh my god! It's him! It's really him, Deku! It's the Thirteen, the Space Hero!"

"One of the best heroes for a rescue situation, thanks to his Quirk."

"Ahem, yes, thank you! Still, first things first, I'd like to welcome you all to this special area that was built specifically for U.A. students such as yourself." The Pro Hero gestured to the area around them. "This place has several mock simulations of various disasters- fires, landslides, getting lost in a cave, tornadoes and hurricanes, and several others. This place, built by me, is known as the USJ- Unforeseen Simulation Joint!"

 _A nice intentional reference to the USJ. I guess the name fits- it looks like the dream playground for up-and-coming Pros focused on rescue, anyways._ As he studied the layout of the place with the rest of his classmates, Izuku saw Aizawa talking with Thirteen about something. The Space Hero lifted up three fingers, and Aizawa shook his head in an annoyed sort of way. _Wonder what that's about._

 _Actually, now that I think about it…_ He looked around their location, but did not see All Might's signature smile and hairstyle. _All Might isn't here. The news this morning talked about him doing Hero work before school started, and he was supposed to be here to help out Aizawa and Thirteen with our Rescue Training. From the interaction I just saw, that most likely means that All Might went over his limit and is resting somewhere. Assuming this is true, then that's a bit irrational, as Aizawa would say, but that want to help others and be a Hero is why he's everyone's favorite._

"Alright everyone." Everyone paid attention to their homeroom teacher. "All Might won't be joining us today." They all started to complain. "Stop whining, and let's begin the training already."

"Hold on, Aizawa! I still need to go over one or two points about this exercise and Hero work in general. Er, three points. Or maybe four points… or five…" Most of the students just looked at the Hero as the number of points he had to make started increasing, and were already in the tens. "Well, anyway, let's start by talking about Quirks and abilities. As many of you know, my Quirk is called Black Hole. This is because, like an actual black hole, it can suck in anything and pull the matter apart."

"Mhm-hmph, mhm-hmph! It's a great Quirk that helps you help people from all types of disaster!" Uraraka said as she nodded with enough vigour to cause an earthquake.

"Correct. However," His face, despite being behind a domed helmet, took on a dark look, "my Quirk can also easily kill someone." The atmosphere turned dark, and everyone began to straighten up, get serious, and stand at attention. Their attention was focused entirely on the Pro Hero. "I have no doubt that there are some of you here whose powers could just as easily endanger the lives of others.

In our superhuman society of powered individuals, using Quirks in public is something heavily restricted, regulated, and recorded. Even though it seems like everything is under control, never forget that wrong and accidental Quirk usage can cause harm to others. You learned that during your mock Battle Trial with All Might some time ago. Meanwhile, Aizawa taught you all your hidden potential with the Apprehension Test. Today, instead of trying to fight villains,you will learn how to direct that potential to save lives!"

The students all cheered in response. Aizawa looked like he wanted to say something to all of them.

That was when Izuku noticed something in the distance. It was a small speck, like a black ember swirling in midair. The ember looked out of place in the middle of the USJ- a dark color among off-white tiles leading into the rescue training zones. That, and how sinister it felt in this place of heroics.

Izuku could taste the malicious intent coming from the dot. Judging by the reactions of other people, like Yaoyorozu and Ojiro, Kirishima and Kacchan, and finally their own teacher, he wasn't the only one that felt it. The speck started to expand, from an ember to a fire and then into a smoky, black flame. Now, the intent was stronger, and more people could feel it.

It eventually grew into a wispy coal bonfire around 2 meters tall, and everyone was noticing it. But still, less than half could feel the evil intent coming from there. Then, a hand came out of the hole, followed by a pale man with grey hair completely covered in severed hands. He looked to the students.

 _This feeling! This is different from "intent to harm." This… just like from that alleyway years ago… "intent to kill!"_ Izuku immediately dropped into a stance, taking out both of his batons. Kirishima and Mina also got into fighting stances, as did Ojiro, Kacchan, Thirteen and Aizawa. The rest of the class, while still wary, didn't feel the need to get combat ready just yet.

"Everyone, huddle up and defend yourselves! Thirteen, guard the students!" The darkness grew larger, and more shady characters started to pour out of it.

"Hey, Aizawa sir, are those robots, like from the practice exam?"

"No! They're real villains!"

 _They're probably the guys who caused that whole stir with the media._

"Hey!" The pale one, likely their leader, called out to the students and Heroes. "What is this? I see a bunch of fodder and midbosses, but I don't see the final boss of this stage. Any of you where I could find All Might? After all, all of us are here so that we could kill him. I mean, the intel said he would be here, right?" He looked to what was obviously a warp portal, which had no formed a face with some metal collar or something.

"Indeed it did. However, he is not here… at the moment."

"Ah, I see. Well, all you mooks, you heard that? All Might isn't here. So sad. Our plans might go to waste! But wait! There's a chance he'll appear if we slaughter enough NPCs. Do you all know what that means?

It means to turn those kids and Heroes up there… into corpses!"

* * *

 **A/N: "Ugh. Weakest chapter, by far."**

 **"Wai- really? I-I can kinda see it not being as good as some other chapters, but you calling it the worst implies you think it's really, really bad. It can't be that bad, right?"**

 **"No, you fucktwit, it's really bad. God awful. It SUCKS! Can't you find a decent way to write things like this?"**

 **"Well it's not our fault. We had a busy week."**

 **"You literally did nothing except 'offbrand anime', Monster Hunter, sleep and eat. That's NOT fucking BUSY!"**

 **Umm... ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯**

 **chunnin33: I see. Thanks for the information! I'll find a way to put it to better use in the future.**

 **MrNeedsToRemoveAllFavs: Of course the little raisin ain't gonna change this fast. He's on the road, but there are potholes everywhere impeding his progress. He will, though, make it to his destination of 'being a likeable pervert'. Eventually.  
"So long as I am anchored to this body, I will never rest! No positive wording will remove me. I will torment this person and his writing for all eternity! MUAHAHAHAHA!"**

 **The next chapter might be a bit longer then normal and might take a bit longer than normal to finish.**

 **See ya later!**


	15. Universal Studios Japan

**A/N: So I wanted to get this out earlier, but life told me no, so... anyways here it is!**

* * *

The students and teachers eyed the villains warily. Their numbers kept on growing, and the students' fear kept on rising with each new mook. Several eyes kept tabs on the largest villain, a strange person almost 3 meters tall, skin blacker than coal, no eyelids and an exposed brain. Some people were watching the black, wispy portal, which had something akin to yellow eyes and a metal collar near its top. However, most of the attention was spent looking at their leader, the pale man covered in hands. His eyes, unlike the other villains, were the most focused on the students. Izuku could practically see the absolute bloodlust being secreted from his body.

He shifted his attention to the wispy guy.

 _Look at his body! It's as if he's a portal or something. Either that, or he's capable of compressing people inside him with no adverse effects. Actually, no, it's likelier that he has some sort of Quirk that can bypass space. He didn't come from nowhere- the fact that I saw his gate-like body grow bigger from a speck- or, in this case, slowly open a hole in space- shows that he teleported people here. Still, teleportation Quirks like that often have a drawback in that they often don't know the state of the area around the portal, and they need to take care not to accidentally warp themselves into a wall. Specific coordinates are necessary. Not only that, but the USJ isn't at the main campus._

"Mr. Aizawa! Mr. Thirteen! There is a chance that the person with the smoke-like body has a Quirk that lets him summon more villains!"

"Nice catch, Midoriya!" Pro Hero Eraserhead quickly activated his Quirk on the smoke body. In an instant, the portal closed, showing the Warper's true body- and cutting off the arm of some poor mook trying to get through the portal.

"Tch. Kurogiri, they just cut off our supply of summons! Whatever. We won't need anymore to take care of those brats."

"Good analysis. I'll keep an eye on him as long as possible." Aizawa's face grew more serious as he realized something. "Still, the intruder sensors haven't sounded- likely some type of Quirk interference."

"Not only that, but this place is far from the main campus." Todoroki chimed in. "These villains are well-coordinated."

"That's a definite problem. They were able to obtain intelligence on what we were supposed to be doing today. The person in the center said something about killing All Might. Since they have a plan of entry, that means they should also have some plan to attack All Might." The Erasure Hero scoffed a bit. "I doubt if that plan would have been successful, but they are extremely dangerous."

"HA HA HA!" Several of the villains laughed. "Fuck yeah, we are! And we're also getting tired of just standing around here, not doing anything. C'mon, long-range squad! Let's kill these kids!"

"No way!" Izuku roared back. As the villains let loose a stream of projectiles, he teamed up with Shouji and Sato to lift up a large slab of concrete that blocked most of the attacks.

"Thirteen!" Aizawa turned to his fellow Pro hero. "Use this chance to evacuate with the students!" With a steel gaze he turned back to face the large concrete wall. He could hear the villains' footsteps fast approaching from behind the wall. " _I_ will hold them off."

"Teacher…" He was approached by Izuku. The teen stopped halfway through, shook his head, and then moved back. "I can't say I'm not worried about you. After all, your Quirk and your combat style are more suited for sneak attacks and single fights instead of large groups of combatants. That being said, you're still the only person here who can reliably take down all those people, or at least a large number of them. So, I think I'll acquiesce to your evacuation order. But you're supposed to be our homeroom teacher for our time here at U.A., so please. Hold out and be safe." The Hero snorted.

"That sounded like a line from one close friend to another in an anime or something. But I understand." He readied his scarf, which became like a long rope. It was his capture weapon. "You guys are my students, so I'll protect. And while it is true my specialty is in quick takedowns…" He took a pair of special goggles and placed them onto his face. "No good Hero is a one trick pony."

As he leapt over the concrete wall at their attackers, Izuku turned to the rest of the class. "Alright, priority is getting Iida out of here!"

"What the fuck, Deku? Why Glasses, huh?" Kaminari raised a hand.

"I gotta agree with Bakugou. Why Iida?"

"I get it! He's the best runner we have, right! If none of us can get out because of whatever, then we need to at least get Iida outta here, right?" Everyone turned to the source of the voice. Pretty much everyone was surprised it came from _Mineta_ of all people; the only ones not surprised were those who did not care, Thirteen who did not know Mineta, and Izuku because he was focused on the task at hand. "Hey, quit looking at me like that! I'm pretty smart, you know!"

"R-regardless of all that…" Iida straightened his glasses. "It sounds like you are just asking me to run off and abandon all of you here, Midoriya! As the class representative, I have to stay here with my class and give them aid!"

"As class representative," Thirteen approached him, and laid a hand on his shoulder. "You hold responsibility for the class and the class's safety. You are also the student who is the most capable of keeping everyone safe right now. Go alert the teachers; we don't know how many intruder sensors they've jammed, but there are sensors everywhere from here to the main buildings. If they do follow you outside, they won't be able to follow you for long."

"Sir. I…"

"Greetings." They heard a smooth voice. Then they saw the Warper appear in front of them, between them and the escape path. "We are the League of Villains. Forgive our audacity, but-"

" _Shut up!_ " Bakugou roared. He charged forward and landed an explosive blow on the Warp villain. Izuku took a safer route of attack- he broke a chunk of concrete from the wall and chucked it at the villain from a safe distance. They weren't the only students to react- Ashido was squirting acid, Sero was shooting tape, Kirishima went in for a hardened punch, and Todoroki attacked with a wave of ice.

"Surprise! We'll be taking the first shot here, villain!"

Despite the group attack hitting from a multitude of angles, all at around the same time, the villain somehow managed to avoid their attacks.

"Impressive display. You may be only students, but that was dangerous." Despite not having any discernible facial features, everyone could feel him grin sadistically.

"Students, get back!" Thirteen cried out.

"Unfortunately for you all, that very danger would be a burden on any future acts of the League. So, begone with you!" He rapidly expanded his form, surrounding almost everyone in his darkness.

All Izuku could see was a rush of black. As suddenly as he was surrounded, he saw his surroundings brighten up. He also saw that he was a few meters airborne. That problem was easily dealt with by him using his reflexes and Quirk to efficiently roll into a landing. He dusted himself off while taking stock of his surroundings.

He was in the landslide zone, a heavily sloped area full of dirt, buried buildings and rubble. The dirt was also a bit loose, and Izuku could feel himself slowly sliding down the slope. He didn't have anymore time to take in his surroundings, however, because he felt something in the shifting soils. He backflipped, barely evading a huge set of claws that came up from the ground beneath them. Brandishing one baton, he leapt forward and broke the claws. The rest of the villain's body popped out of the ground.

"Son of a bitch! You broke my-" He was knocked out by a jumping heel to the jaw.

Before he landed, Izuku stabbed a rod into the ground and carefully balanced himself on it. He couldn't trust the earth beneath him- who knows how many more villains lurked beneath the surface? He'd rather not dare step foot on the ground. He took out the other baton, and began to walk himself across the landslide area.

 _I wonder how long I can keep moving like this before my arms get tired?_ He saw an explosion of dirt off to his side. _Or until another villain attacks?_ This time, a toad-like villain was trying to jump him; he was quickly dispatched when a blast of sound struck him. _That's either accidental friendly-fire, or that's-_ "Jiro?"

"Hey! Greenie!" The punk rocker greeted him. "What're you doing? Entertaining the villains with handstands?"

"Trying my best to put some extra distance between me and the ground; I guess I don't need to anymore, since I have you with me." He dismounted his sticks and took them out of the ground. "Did you meet anyone else? Can you hear anyone else?"

"No, I just met you and a couple villains. As for hearing, well, sounds of battle are everywhere in this joint. It'd be hard not to hear anyone! By the way, I hear something approaching."

"Where?"

"From above ground, running towards us! Still… this sounds like… clanking armor?"

"Mes amis!"

"It's Aoyama." The knight in shining armor appeared before them, not a speck of dust tarishing his costume. That was despite the fact there was a huge dust cloud behind him. "Wait, I can hear people chasing him from below!"

"Mes amis! Assist me please!"

"Jiro, send a vibration through the ground!"

"Got it!" Her earlobes extended, and her jacks dug into the ground, the point facing Aoyama's direction. A burst of sound shot from them; thanks to the closeness of the soil particles, the vibrational energy traveled through them quickly, assaulting the villains behind the shining teen and launching them out of the ground.

"Merci, mon amie!" He turned around and shot the group- who were in a straight line- with his Navel Laser, rendering them unconscious. Jiro's eyes widened.

"Guys, more are coming!" More clouds of dust and dirt, as well as several wormsigns, were heading their way.

"Jiro, me and Aoyama can't hit them very well when they're in the ground! You're the only one who can reliably hit them right now using a multidirectional sound wave! But launch them when as they get right on top of us!"

"Yeah, yeah, so that the rest of them don't back away, I got it!"As the two boys watched the villains get closer, Jiro's eyes narrowed in concentration. As the crooks and thugs got closer, the wormsigns and dirt clouds suddenly stopped.

"... Perhaps les lâches went away?"

"No," Jiro smirked. "They're right where I want'em- directly below! **Heartbeat Clash!** " A massive shockwave shook the earth; amid the clamour, Izuku could barely make out screaming villains.

 _That'll take care of those directly below us._ He eyed the ground. _Still, when energy travels, there's always a bit of falloff near the edges; some villains weren't hit as hard as those directly in the path of those soundwaves. So, where are they…_ Several popped out of the air. "There! Aoyama, support me!" He activated Full Cowl, and Boosted his legs to 13% power.

"Oui oui, mon ami! **Séduct-trois!** " Izuku dashed ahead as Aoyama fired a barrage of Laser shots from his navel and from his knees, downing several villains. Izuku assaulted several with a flurry of kicks and rod strikes.

"Outta the way, Greenie- I'm tagging in! **Heartbeat Fuzz!** " Izuku leapt away as another blast of sound tore through several villains.

"Aoyama, cover Jiro's back! Both of you, cover me with long-range attacks as I finish off the rest of these mooks!" He kicked one in the throat. "Stay down."

"Here, kiddy-kiddies! Come play with Stabby!" A laser blasted him away.

"Non non, monsieur. I think I'll need an adult."

"We're surrounded, Aoyama!" Jirou blasted away another group with her speakers. "Don't joke!"

* * *

After a few grueling minutes, the battle ended. Piles of unconscious bodies, either half-buried or lying with their faces in the ground, littered the landslide zone. The three teens wiped sweat off their foreheads.

"It's a shame we couldn't KO more of them when Jirou blasted the ground. Ah, well, no use dwelling on the past, especially when we have a crisis on our hands."

"Greenie, do you think we should go to the find the others?"

"No, actually. They should be able to take care of themselves- I mean, you were sent into an area where sound travels very well, Jiro, so it's safe to say they know none of our Quirks." Just then, the group saw a huge blast of electricity from the flood rescue zone.

"... From the dumbass scream that accompanied it, I think Kaminari's over there. I see your point, Greenie."

"Yeah, we don't need to worry about our classmates. So, I think we should head for the courtyard in the center." Their gazes drifted to the area he was talking about. They could see that Eraserhead was still fighting strong, going toe-to-toe with the large group of villains. Still, he was wavering; because of his style and his nocturnal nature, his stamina wasn't good. "I know what I said to him earlier, but if we're going to be trapped here because of the Warper, we might as well try to lighten the burden on our teacher."

"P-pardon mois, but… but that is quite a… a... w-walk." Aoyama stated while holding on to his quivering stomach.

"That's fine, I'll just carry you two with me." Jirou started to blush.

"W-wha? Carry? I get it, you're strong, but we don't really need to do something like that-" She felt him hook an arm around her, putting her arm on his shoulders. He did the same thing for Aoyama, too.

"Yeah, not enough time. Let's bound on over there."

"My- my stomach isn't yet up to- AAH!" With a hop, skip, and a jump, Izuku bounded over to the edge of the central courtyard with a blushing Jiro and very ill-looking Aoyama in tow. He scanned the area and quickly found a pile of rubble for them to hide behind. As the shining Hero-in-training vomited off to the side, Jiro and Izuku watched intensely from behind the rubble as Aizawa handled all the villains throwing themselves at him with declining efficiency.

"... When I see an opening…"

"Greenie, what are you muttering about?"

"Oui," Aoyama joined in, "what are you talking about, mon ami?"

"Immediately jumping into the fray right now would distract Mr. Aizawa since he'd be too busy worrying about me. So, I'm going to wait for an opening before I can try to help him out my way." She rounded on him.

"First of all, why would we have to join him in the first place? We're trying to get out of here and call other Heroes for help, numbskull! Second, why should we join him? I get it, he's losing stamina, everyone does. He's still going on strong, and it's not like the villains can do anything about it!"

"Jiro, I said that I was going to jump in. You and Aoyama can join in if you desire, but I won't be pushing you to join me in my possibly foolish act."

"Look, do-" She suddenly felt a chill go up her shoulder. "Do… do… oh my lord."

"What?"

"I just... I heard Thirteen screaming. He's in pain, like something is tearing him apart slowly! And then, the other guy, with all the hands on him… I hear him earlier, but this close to him, it's just-"

"What's he saying, Jiro?"

"It sounds like he's counting down a number of seconds. He's currently at seventeen seconds." At that moment, they saw their teacher come into contact with the main villain, intensely driving his elbow into that hand-guy's sternum. They inwardly cheered at first before they saw the villain _disintegrating Aizawa's elbow_. They watched him back off of the villain, ready to fight despite the fact that his elbow had some of its skin torn off.

"Mon Dieu!" Despite being transfixed on what was going on in front of them with their teacher, Jiro still saw how Izuku was tensed up, ready to spring forward like a bullet or something. She could also see the visible restraint in his eyes.

"Not… yet... There's not a good opening for me to try and help him out just yet." Izuku then noticed the large, black-skinned villain. He wasn't doing anything, just standing around, unblinking and looking into blank space with a dead look in his eyes, all while the other villains were getting thrashed around. For a split second Izuku saw his muscles tense up. In a flash, he moved to attack Aizawa. _Wha- I didn't even-_

He heard a brutal snap. From his peripheral vision, he could see Jiro recoil at the sound. Aoyama, for his part, managed to keep himself from squealing at the sight of their teacher's arm, grasped in the large villain's hand like a doll's. His head was being ground into the ground, with the muscular body atop him keeping him pinned. There came a second snapping sound, this time coming from the Hero's other hand.

 _How? Even from where he was Aizawa should've seen him, cancelled out his Quirk! Does that mean… does that mean this guy's natural strength is that level?_ A pit started forming in his stomach and his knees started knocking. _Damn, I'm getting scared, losing composure! That's dangerous, making decisions based on fear is dangerous! This is going to end up just like the alleyway incident. I've gotta-_ At that moment the Warper came into their view.

"Shigaraki Tomura."

"Ahh, Kurogiri. Did you hit Thirteen with a fatality?"

"Unfortunately, no. He is merely unconscious. The students interfered- I warped away several of them, but one managed to get outside and is running towards the main campus as we speak. Considering what I saw of his Quirk, we should expect to fight more Pro Heroes in a manner of seconds."

"What?" He began to scratch at his neck, tearing away skin and cracking his nails slightly. Aoyama was highly distressed at the sight. "Damn! If it weren't for the fact you're our escape route, I'd disintegrate you. I'm not too keen on fighting against a mob of Pros, Kurogiri; we'd lose. Game over." He walked over to the black thing. "Noumu, raise his head up a bit." When Noumu did so, Shigaraki punted him in the jaw. "I feel a little better now. Kurogiri, get ready- we're leaving."

"Oh, Dieu merci." Aoyama relaxed.

 _He said they're leaving, but this feeling just won't go away…_

"But before we do that, I just realized we have a sub-mission."

"What is it, sir?" Izuku noticed how the villain's face tilted slightly towards the piece of rubble they were hiding behind. His eyes narrowed, and his grip tightened.

"Wounding the pride… of the Symbol of Peace!" With near-imperceptible speed, Shigaraki bolted to the rubble. Within a second, he was squatting on top of it, eyes wide and focused on Jiro's face, hand outstretched. At the same time, Izuku hopped upwards, putting him and the villain on eye-level. His arm was cocked back, truncheon in hand.

"Get off!" He parried away the offending hand before jabbing Shigaraki in the gut with the end of his weapon. The villain recovered quickly and grabbed the weapon before reaching for Izuku's face. Acting quickly, Izuku used his other baton to snap off the part that was decaying and threw his head backwards, narrowly dodging the grab before pounding his heel into the other person's chin and sending him flying back towards his teammates.

"Nngh, gotta lotta spunk in ya, kid." With minor difficulty he stood up and watched Izuku as he stood atop the piece of rubble. "But you're dealing with an enemy several levels above you." The martial artist snorted.

"Nah, I've grinded enough to be a match for you… uh… noob."

"Hey, hey, hey," Shigaraki's eyes narrowed. "What do you think you're saying? I think I get what you're trying to do- you're trying to throw me off, get me with that confusion effect, huh?"

"Mido… Midoriya…" Both the rising villain and the training Hero looked to the Pro Hero still clutched in Noumu's hands. "Stop… don't…"

"You should listen to your teacher, kiddo. After all, his is big-league stuff. Wouldn't want to die before-" He was interrupted when Izuku suddenly rushed him, driving an elbow into his opponent's face.

" **Kirin…** " He twisted himself and lifted a leg high into the air. " **... SMASH!** " He slammed his heel down, but Shigaraki backed away from the ground-shattering impact.

"You named that attack with a 'smash.'" He glared at the teen before him with pure malice in his eyes. "There's nothing I hate more in this world than a damned All-Might fanboy!" He rubbed his jaw. "And that power behind your blows… it's like you're a miniature version." From the corners of his eye, the villain noticed the rubble the teens were hiding behind was flying his way, accompanied by a blast of sound. "Noumu."

The larger villain appeared in front of his boss and shattered the projectile with a single punch. Shigaraki saw Izuku and his classmates, all standing there, ready to fight. The sight, reminiscent of a team of Pro Heroes facing off against adversity, sickened him. "Crush them!"

"Now, Aoyama!"

"On it!" The hulking figure dashed forward, practically teleporting with how fast he was, but Aoyama was still able to hit his ankles with one of his Navel Lasers, tripping him up. Izuku used that moment to come in close, grab Noumu, and throw him hard enough that his head was buried into the ground a few meters behind his classmates. His arms stung a little from that.

 _Damn, 13% Boost hurts… but maybe he's incapacitated enough for-_ Noumu ripped his head out of the ground, looking like it was still uninjured except for a few specks of dust dirtying its body. _Of course not…_ The villain hadn't forgotten what his orders were, and he was right behind his targets. His arms lifted high and he lumbered forward, ready to turn them into paste with its tree-like arms. _Wait, wait a minute! Stop! No!_

"Get away!" He raced forward, Full Cowl and Boost ready, pushing aside his teammates and jamming his arms upward as Noumu crashed his downwards. On impact, Izuku felt his bones creak and crackle as his skin tore a bit on his arms, sending small, slow, but visible streams of blood flowing down his arm.

" _ **Midoriya!**_ "

"Heheheheheh… **Hahahahahaha**! Oh, this is rich! Hey, Kurogiri, look at this brat! He actually thinks he can fight back against Noumu! Here's a hint for you, fanboy- Noumu here is a lab rat created specifically to kill All Might. His stats are just too much for _you_ to compete. And what's more, one of his abilities is Shock Absorption. Stab him, burn him, you might have a chance of winning. But blows like yours and All Might's are just love taps to him." He started walking closer to the two of them. "Noumu, don't one-shot him. I want to see him struggle and squirm before the Pro Heroes get here."

 _Sadistic… that'd be a good thing to exploit right about now if this thing wasn't compressing me into the ground! Damn it. Shock absorption and superhuman strength- why'd such a cool combination have to be in a villain's hands? I can't even force him off me since he's just slowly absorbing the pressure I'm applying trying to just hold his arms up! He's going to kill me and crush me… then he can go after everyone else in this facility and do the same… and then there's One for All. That power… it deserves to be passed on to someone! I can't- I_ _ **won't**_ _let its flames sputter out here! I won't… I won't…_ _ **I won't!**_

During his inner monologue, green arcs of energy began to build up around him. Dust was swirling around him, and wind was whipping through his hair. Everyone could feel the energy building up inside of Izuku; Shigaraki was beginning to get irritated by all this, while Aoyama and Jiro were in a bit of awe. Aizawa was watching too, transfixed on what was going on. As Kurogiri saw this all unfold, he began to notice other students coming to the central courtyard.

"Master Shigaraki, I think it's best we-"

" **GOOOOAAAHH!** " Izuku's scream ripped through the air, and a brilliant viridescent light shone through the USJ.

As everyone present rubbed out the blindness from their eyes, they saw Izuku on the ground, chest heaving and drenched in sweat, as if he had a marathon through a desert. They also saw two large holes in the roof of the USJ, as well as the fact that Noumu was missing both of his lower arms.

"Shit! What was that move? No matter- Noumu has hyper regeneration, so those arms you blew off are coming right back! And after that, he's going to-"

" **To what, villain?** " A booming voice came from one of the holes at the roof of the USJ. It was a voice familiar to everyone in the facility- a voice brimming with power and justice and, at the moment, anger. It was All Might, muscle form, dressed in his formal teacher's attire. He jumped down, landing right next to Izuku and Noumu, who had completely regrown his arms.

" **Youngster, are you okay?** "

"Oh… hey.. All Might… bruises, scrapes… extreme exhaustion…" Wordlessly, All Might picked up his protege. Seeing Shoji, Kaminari, Yaoyorozu, and Mineta coming closer, he tossed the teen to the four of them. "Ow… thanks…"

"All Might, sir!" Jiro ran up to him. "That guy's name is Noumu, and his Quirk is Shock Absorption! Not only that, but he has crazy strength and speed too! He blew off our attacks like nothing, and he cracked the ground using Mr. Aizawa's head, even though he was using Erasure on him!" He laid his large hand on her shoulder and gently moved her aside.

" **Worried for my safety? I understand. But fear not, for** _ **I am here!**_ " The last thing Izuku saw before he blacked out was his mentor's face.

 _He isn't smiling..._

* * *

 **Omake: Chemicals in the water are turning all the grapes gay!**

"Gahgllglglhh!" Mineta coughed up the water that was in his mouth.

"Hey, dude! Mineta! You alive?" He looked to see who saved him- and his mind went blank for a moment.

It may have been Kaminari, given the black-and-yellow hair, but Mineta saw a face that was definitely not Kaminari's. The cheekbones were not that strong and high, and since when did his chin become so daggerishly sharp? Seriously, it was shining like a well-polished sword. Or, was that because of all the sparkles that Mineta could see floating around the other teen's face? They were clouding his vision, like the pink mist and the mysteriously floating roses and other flowers that came into his view. What was most shocking, however, were Kaminari's eyes- they were far larger than normal, each one sporting a highly detailed and sparkling iris. Then there were those lip-

Mineta promptly slammed his blushing face down into the ground- or, as they were, wooden planks.

"WHADAFUQMIFINKEN?!"

"Are you ok, Mineta?" Hearing that female voice, he turned to his big-breasted muse, Yaoyorozu- except he felt nothing towards her other than some friendship. She didn't have sparkles around her, and his diap- err, his grape-bowl-like pants weren't getting tighter, not like they did when he saw Kaminari.

"Uh, uhm, ergh… I don't…" He quickly rubbed his eyes, looked at Yaoyorozu. Yup, no sparkles. "I don't know… I don't think so…"

"That's not good." He heard Shoji's voice, and immediately blushed at what he was seeing. Just like Kaminari, the Octopus was covered in sparkles and mist and flowering roses. Unlike Kaminari, Shoki's eyelashes were strangely pronounced, even on the eyes that weren't on his face. Just like the Electrician, Shoji's lips were also very… uh… And then there were his oh-so-muscular arms. Just looking at all six of them made Mineta blush uncomfortably. His pants were also feeling uncomfortable as images of what other body parts Shoji could make popped into his mi-

"Mineta, for some odd reason, you're drooling."

"WADDAFUUUQ!"

* * *

(earlier, League of Villains Hideout)

"... So, your ability, UA Raid candidate #634, is that you can secrete a sweat the changes a person's gender orientation, and you claim it's an effective way to sow discord and confusion among the UA students?"

"Of course. They're all hormonal teens. Why wouldn't it work?"

"... Good point. We're selecting you for the team."

"Whoo-hoo!"

* * *

 **A/N: And here's a chapter for y'all! Yay! It sucks but whatever! Yaay!**

 **Blandusername: It seems my plan to instill cringe in the population is working. Excellent!**

 **Piece And Wore: The point is to make it blatantly obvious the guy is a rip-off character.**

 **42: Hola! Si leeria, lo siento. Pero, necesito Izuku a tiene OfA porque razones. Tambien, si, Kirishima is el hombre! Perdon mi español, solamente era en mi clase de** **español de escuela secundaria por 2** **años. Yo no bueno.**

 **grg313: Yes, that's right! And he's going to be like that for a bit until he meets another mentor. Is it Gran Torino, you may ask? Well, the answer will be revealed... when we get there.**

 **And when will we get there? Not next chapter! In any case, see y'all later!**


	16. Dream On

I _AM CALLING SOMEONE! I AM CALLING SOMEONE! I AM CA-_ *click*

" _Hello, Young Midoriya! How are you feeling?_ "

"I'm doing pretty fine, Al- er, coach Yami. Couple of my bones were cracked, but no outright fractures or anything. Also, I still feel a bit exhausted from what happened at USJ."

"A bit? Man, I'm carrying you home right now! You can barely walk on your own, dude."

It was the time period between late afternoon and early evening when the rays of the sun bathed the world in orange lights, fighting with the indigo dark brought by the moon. After being discharged from the U.A. medical center (and after getting scolded by Recovery Girl for being as reckless with his abilities as All Might), Midoriya tried to walk, no, limp home. Kirishima, who had waited for his friend to get out, saw him and lent him a shoulder. They were currently a block or two away from the Midoriyas' apartment, and it was then that Izuku decided to call up his mentor.

" _Young Kirishima is with you, huh? Ha ha, what a good friend you have there, young man. It's good to hear that you're doing better after the attack at the USJ._ "

"You're going to hear from Recovery Girl what she thought about my actions at USJ."

" _Ah… that won't be too pleasant. Anyways, I sense that you have some other things you would like to talk about, Young Midoriya?_ "

"Yeah, a bit of information-gathering on the villains we encountered. Well, only a couple of the villains. I don't really need to know anything about the mooks they brought around, but those three…"

"Yeah, the mist guy, the hand guy, and the birdbrain guy! What was up with those, anyway! And- wait, why are you asking Mr. Yami about all this? How come you didn't stay after school to talk to someone like Mr. All Might or something? He'd know more about things, right?"

"Well, it's because-"

" _I can hear him just fine, Young Midoriya. Young Kirishima, I neglected to tell you this, but I actually have connections with several police detectives, such as a plain-looking man in a trench coat named Tsukauchi._ "

"Hey, I think I remember that dude! He was asking all of us students questions and stuff, like faces and what Quirks we could see. So, you have connections with people like that, Mr. Yami? That's totally rad, man! Coulda told us earlier, though; instead of sparring on a beach, me and Midoriya coulda been sparring in a police gym or something."

" _I'm afraid my connections don't give me that much leverage, Young Kirishima. But anyways, Young Midoriya, why do you need such information?_ "

"Street information. You never know what you could overhear walking on the street, nor who you could see trying to cover their face with a hoodie. It was probably due to everything that was happening, but I never got a really good glimpse at the guy with the hands other than pale with bluish hair."

"Woah, I didn't think of that. I don't think many others in our class did, either. Hey, it'd be a good idea to share some of that information with our classmates; it could help the Pros and the police if they ever need it."

" _I understand, boys. I'll send a text message about known names and physical descriptions to your phones; well, I'll send what information I can, anyway. Is there anything else, Young Midoriya?_ "

"Hmm… I'll ask later. Me and Kirishima are already at the door to my apartment, and I need to see to it that my doesn't die from either a stress-related heart attack or crying herself to dehydration."

" _Hmm. Alright. I await your call, Young Midoriya. As for now, have a good evening, and stay safe!_ "

"Don't worry, I will. See you later, Sir." *click* "Hey, Kirishima, got time to stay for dinner?"

"Aw hell yeah, man!"

* * *

Izuku flumped back onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. The light of the moon filtered through his window, shining onto his face as he recalled All Might's earlier words about his power.

Unfortunately, they all boiled down to "I don't know."

He sighed, and brought a hand up to his face. He stared at his plain, open palm before he flooded it with the power of One For All. It was the same feeling he felt all those times before, but it was not the same as what he felt during the entrance exam and at USJ. He thought he had the feeling down to a tee. Unfortunately, the memory of that tingle just faded away. Well, he knew it really didn't; it was just stuck in his head somewhere, eluding him, causing a failure to retrieve and recall. It didn't help that All Might knew nothing, either. This was something the Inheritor had to figure out on his own, and it was frustrating him.

He allowed the normal power of One For All to recede, and then he tried calling that other feeling again. No answer.

 _You're a tricky one, you know. But you're some part of this power, something that could help me help others. I will find out what you are, and what it takes to get you out of your shell, and what it will take to train with you like the rest of One For All._ But now, it was getting late. Thinking on a sleepy brain isn't productive at all.

With a bit of effort (he was still exhausted, after all), Izuku closed the blinds to his window, crawled into bed, and slept.

* * *

"Go down already, damn you!" That hulking mass of dark flesh ignored his command, and instead continued to take the teen's assault without so much as flinching. Green lightning flashed at each strike, but each one proved ineffectual. It just stood there, menacingly, but doing nothing to block or deflect. There was no bruise or cut on its skin; there wasn't even an indent from where Midoriya attacked.

The student, meanwhile, looked ragged. His costume was torn at places, he had a cut above his eye, bruises were beginning to form everywhere on his body, and his weapons lay broken on the ground. His classmates and teachers, who all stood behind him, weren't in a much better shape. But unlike them, he wasn't exhausted and on his knees. He wasn't unconscious like half of them were, or a skeleton like All Might currently was. He was able to fight, to protect them when they couldn't protect themselves.

But what good was he? He was their protector, yes, but he could do nothing against this thing. None of them could; all of their blows proved ineffectual. Ice failed; explosions were ignored; acid was pointless; lasers were ineffectual. Not even All Might could muscle through his opponent.

As these thoughts rained down on him, his attacks became progressively slower and slower. Eventually, he collapsed, too. He went down on his hands and knees, panting heavily. Dread was pooling in his gut.

"Damn… damn… damn! Is there absolutely nothing I can do? ...No. I can't, won't give up! I will defeat you! I won't go back on my word, on my promises to my class, my teachers, my mother, myself, everyone! I. Will. Win! But… but how? What will it take to bring. You. **Down?"**

… _Maybe_ _ **I**_ _could help you, Midoriya._ The fighter wildly turned his head to the side. Kneeling next to him was a being made of pure light, with a burning white core that gradually became more viridian as it spread through its body. There were no identifiable features, since it was faceless and without clothing, except a messy afro atop its head. It felt fierce, powerful, and wild, like an uncontrollable flame. It extended a hand.

"Who are you?"

… _Me? You'll find out very soon, Midoriya. All you need to do is to take hold of my hand._ He hesitatingly took it.

Power surged into him, overflowing his body. While One For All sparked across his limbs, this strength coated him in brilliant fire. He could hear the voice of the being; it was almost as if it came from his core.

 _Can you feel it? This power within?_

"This… this is extreme! But what- never mind, how can I use this? How can I draw forth this power that can protect and shield those I hold dear?"

 _The process is simple. Here, I will help you._ He could feel the flames moving his hands, bringing them in front of him, palms open and facing the dark creature before him. _Now, reach inside. From the bottom of your heart, take hold of me. Draw me forth from your core! Open your heart, and shout!_

And he did.

* * *

 _Thats perfect!_ Izuku thought. Despite his injuries, their teacher Aizawa came back to teach the class on the Monday after the events at USJ. He was currently talking about an event called the U.A. Sports Festival, an event for all students to show what they're made of and get the attention of Pro Heroes all over. While that was the intent, it also provided Izuku with a goal: mastering his newfound abilities in time for the Sports Festival. For a person with a mind like his, goals and deadlines made things more focused, and with more focus, things become more rewarding.

Of course, he wasn't the only one with goals and plans for the festival.

"I said, ' **Yeah! I'm gonna do my best!** '"

"Yeah! But be more consistent with your character, will ya?" He was currently walking to lunch with his friends. Ashido was looking a bit worried that Uraraka was acting unusually hyped about the upcoming Festival, and she wasn't the only one. "How come you're so pumped up, girl?"

"Why not? It's a competition, and we're all going to be vying for the eyes of all the Pro Heroes, right? We gotta be fired up to get their attention! Like our teacher said, this the chance to make names for ourselves, and I'll be damned if I don't make my name known to all the Pros seeking sidekicks!"

"Excellently put, Uraraka! Since this our chance to make Pro Heroes acknowledge us, being anything less than excited is absurd." Iida was chopping his hand through the air like a madman.

"That's nice, but let Kacchan handle the cursing, Uraraka." The green teen chuckled. "Still, I refuse to deny that you have a mighty Heart there. It's making me curious, you know."

"About what?"

"What drives you, of course. What makes you want to become a Hero, you know? What do you want to show to the world, what type of name do you want to make for yourself? For me, I'm here because I want to help others while wearing a fearless smile, like All Might does." His companion turned red in the face. She turned to stare at the ground, and began to play with the curls of her hair.

"W-wow, what a… what a goal. What a dream, Deku! I… well, I wish I had such a lofty goal like you. Hearing you say something so simple but noble… I'm embarrassed to say mine, now."

"Uraraka, you do not need to be so reserved!" Iida remarked. "There is no such thing as a bad reason to become a Hero. For example, if you wish to be a Hero for money, then that is fine! There is nothing wrong with wanting to live a more comfortable life, after all." Hearing that, her face became bright crimson, and she hid it behind her hands. "... It seems that money actually was the answer. What a guess!"

"I know right? But seriously, girl, the class rep's right! You shouldn't be so embarrassed about wanting some extra income."

"... Mhm. I guess I might need to explain my goal a bit more clearly, huh? At this rate, you all might get the wrong idea in your heads.

"See, the money isn't actually for me. My family operates a small-time construction company around… well, around the Kansai region in the south. Problem is, they don't get as many customers and projects as they like. They're poor. They're always working so hard, but because they only get so little in return, they suffer.

I wanted to help mom and dad out. I really wanted to. It wouldn't have been hard, either, since my Quirk is really useful for construction and all that. We would've been able to sell some of our equipment and we could've cut on labor costs. But my parents didn't want me to help. They wanted me to focus on being a Hero, like I always dreamed of." She paused to wipe away a small tear forming in her eye.

"That's why I'm so pumped for the Festival. How I do in the Festival affects my chances at being a Hero. So, I gotta do my best. That way, I can become a Hero that can make my parents' lives easier." She heard sobbing, and turned her head to face a crying Kirishima. With each tear, he clapped his hands, showing his admiration and respect for his peer (although, with the tears in his eyes, he couldn't really say it.) Next to him, Mina was also clapping her heart out, though she wasn't crying. Iida settled for a simple smile. Izuku, however, set a heavy hand onto her shoulder, and looked her in the eye.

"That's a wonderful reason, Uraraka! Don't let anybody, not even yourself, say it isn't."

"We- I know it isn't! It's just, after hearing you say yours, I was just a bit embarrassed, that's all. I mean, yours is pretty simple but still very noble and idealistic. Any somewhat selfish reason wouldn't sound as good if it followed after that." As the conversation turned into some of the more selfish reasons people chose to become Heroes, Midoriya was lost in thought.

 _Urar-_

 **"I AM... HERE!"** His train of thought came to an abrupt halt when All Might accidentally ran into him and knocked him out a window.

"Deku!"

"Midoriya!"

"Whoops! Sorry, Young Midoriya."

"Hnrk-gnrk."


	17. Let The Festival Begin!

"What's wrong, Deku? You've had this worried look on your face since after meeting with All Might. Shouldn't you have more of a wide smile on your face or something?" Uraraka asked him, face concerned. Iida, Kirishima, and Mina were walking with him, too, and their faces showed varying degrees of concern.

Lunchtime was over,and now students were preparing to resume their day and head to their next classes. Many were chatting animatedly, excited about rumours that were going around school or gossiping about crushes. Some wore plain emotionless faces, simply walking to their next class like a hive mind. Izuku's face was the only one in the crowd that was tinged with negative emotions like worry.

Honestly, how could he not be? He just came back from talking to his ailing mentor to find out that his time as the Symbol of Peace was becoming shorter and shorter, both in the long run and on a daily basis. All Might's fight with Noumu, which the teen sadly could not see, forced him to dig deeper into his reserves of power, even though he already reached his daily limit on his powers. It was intense enough that All Might's daily limit shrunk to just 90 minutes. An hour and a half.

If there was some consolation, it was that the green-haired teen's earlier attack on Noumu weakened it, making the fight less strenuous for his mentor. Of course, that shifted the conversation to Izuku's abilities, as well as what he remembered- and wrote down, since sleep memory is easy to forget- about his dream.

That conversation led to another one about Izuku making his name known to Pro Heroes around the world during the Sports Festival. _That_ conversation was what was giving the teen stress and worry.

"I'm just concerned about the Festival, I guess. All Might gave me some praise about the USJ incident, told me to keep up the good work, and told me how he expected me to do well in the Festival. When the Number 1 Pro Hero gives you pressure like that, it's hard to _not_ become worried. Unless you're Kacchan, that is."

"Move, cannon fodder!"

"Speak of the devil…" The group speedwalked forward, moving through a crowd of people before ending up with the rest of Class 1-A. They were all standing behind Bakugou, who was staring down a loud group of students that were blocking off their route to their next class. A student that looked like Kirishima but with silver hair and a weird eyemask was at the front of the group, shouting back. He tapped Aoyama on the shoulder. "Hey, what's happening?"

"Ah, mon ami! Well, according to Bakugou, all of these messieurs et mesdemoiselles are, as he says, 'scouting the competition.' And why would they not? Our sparkling win at USJ has been seen by everyone! And, since le Festival is coming up, they're all looking to outshine us; their première étape is to see us and mentally gauge us. Of course, considering they have to deal with Le Volcan, everyone else sees our class as filled with arrogant, self-absorbed snobs."

Admittedly, Aoyama, Iida, and Yaoyorozu looked like the stereotypical snobs; of course, no one in Class 1-A was going to say that. Though, considering how much backlash the group as a whole was receiving from Bakugou's nature… nope, no one was going to through them under the bus. Mineta forgot the idea ever existed in his head.

"To think they allow people like you into the Hero Course… gotta say, this year's next generation of Heroes isn't looking so hot right now." Some of the students parted, revealing a tired-looking guy with messy purple hair. Uraraka thought it looked like a purple, bed-head version of Izuku's verdant locks. "Of course, if I manage to replace you, I figure everything should get a bit better."

"Hah?" Bakugou raised an eyebrow.

"People like me whose Quirks weren't too suited against fighting those machines, as well as all those who couldn't do as well as the Hero Course's worst student, had to go to the other tracks, like General Studies. I'd say students like use make up over half of U.A.'s student population. We're a big crowd, and many of us feel a bit spiteful towards all the students that did make it in.

Then we heard an interesting piece of information. Apparently, if we do well enough in the Sports Festival, some of us might get transferred into the Hero Course. Meanwhile, if one of your classmates, or _you_ , do poorly, there's a chance you'll get bumped out." He turned his back to Bakugou and began to walk away. The explosive teen, who had all this time been listening with a cool temper, flared up at this action.

"Don't turn your back on me!"

"For a General Studies kid like me, this is the perfect chance to knock you offstage. So, this isn't merely me gauging you and your class. This is my declaration of war."

* * *

It was a fine day, with no school to ruin it. Had Izuku decided to train at a park, the atmosphere would've matched perfectly. Instead, he and his mother were right outside the gates of Musutafu City's scrapyard.

"First that beach, and now a place like this. Izuku, honey, couldn't we have just gone to the park?"

"Sorry, mom, but I didn't want to deface city property with what I'm going to do Here, though, there's a lot of junk that nobody would mind being destroyed."

"Well, I'm glad you decided to have me with you, dearie. Of course, I'm still very worried with what you explained to me, but at the very least I'll be here to help care for you and feed you when you inevitably exhaust your stamina." He hugged her.

"Thanks, mom. You're wonderful!"

"Aw, honey, that's sweet. Now, run along. I understand you need as much time as possible. Don't waste it all by hugging your mother."

"Alright." He untangled himself from her, and walked past the gates. In front of him was a wasteland of junk; a perfect place to work on honing his new ability. He took a deep breath.

Inhale, exhale.

Inhale, exhale.

He called forth the power from within. He allowed to flow through his arms, let it pool in his hands. He raised them up, and from the depths of his soul, he shouted.

" **BURST!"**

* * *

Fireworks and cheering resonated throughout the halls of the stadium. The footfalls of the people were more like a stampede from sheer numbers and sheer excitement. While they couldn't hear the whirring of helicopter blades, they knew that a swarm of the machines was above, watching the people below. Most were from news stations, many were advertising something using banners, and some were there as a security measure. While the helis circled above, the workers- reporters, journalists, cameramen, guards, police, Pro Heroes, endorsed celebrities- scurried down below. Alongside the sights and sounds, the scent of food wafted from various stalls and stands around the area.

It was time for the Sports Festival.

In a locker room at the Sport Festival's stadium, Midoriya was doing yoga. Not only did this help limber up his joints, it also allowed him to meditate a little.

Given the fact that his mentor, All Might, was planning to retire soon and wanted Izuku to show off as his secret successor, he needed a clear head. This was important and shocking news, after all.

 _To think his overexertion at USJ made his limit shorten to 90 minutes… Stop, Izuku! Stop thinking about such things! Don't let yourself get distracted. Rather than worrying about All Might's future, focus on what's in front of you right now. You've got many rivals, all of which are more proficient in their Quirk than you. You also have to go through challenge after challenge with less-than-adequate time to recharge your stamina. I'll need to be careful with One For All so that my concentration doesn't slip. I'll also need to dial back how much I use my new ability… if possible, I should save it for the last part of the Festival. That's especially because I couldn't hone it as much as I would have liked._

 _Now that that's out of the way, how should I go about announcing_ " _ **I am here!"**_ _to the world? Should I yell it at some point, almost like All Might? Or is it just enough to finish in good standing? Questions, questions…_

Someone tapped his shoulder. He turned his head to see an interesting sight: Todoroki, hand and finger outstretched, with his body facing him but his head shooting Bakugou a questioning glance. Bakugou, meanwhile, had _his_ hands and finger outstretched and hovering over Todoroki's shoulder while shooting Izuku and Todoroki with a very confused glare.

"Uhh… huh. Did either of you two need me for something?"

"Piss off, nerd. I need to talk to Peppermint Butler over here about something."

"Unlike you, I actually need to talk to Midoriya. Wait your turn."

"What the hell you need the shitty nerd for? Actually, don't tell me. I don't care. So _you_ wait _your_ turn, and listen to what I have to say to you, Pepsi." Kaminari tilted his head.

"Hey, Bakugou? How is that an insult to Todoroki?"

"Because Pepsi tastes like a rotting carcass, Bootleg-chu. Now, unless anybody else has an interruption…" Bakugou invaded Todoroki's personal space and looked him square in the face. Everyone was watching with bated breath; they all knew that Bakugou was anger and violence in living form, and so they were worried that a fight would break out before the Festival even started.

… _I wonder if Kacchan is gay for Todoroki?_

"Listen up, lukewarm. I've seen your performances at USJ and the Battle Trial. You have some real damn icepower, but you haven't used any firepower at all." The heterochromatic teen narrowed his eyes. "See, for this Festival, that ain't gonna fly. This is my chance to show the Pros what they're going to have to compete with when they graduate, and I refuse to win just because the other 'Strongest-Guy-In-Class'," he used air quotes for this, "only wants to go halfway through. Well, eat a dick! Katsuki Bakugou doesn't do things halfway through! He gives his 100% on the field all the time. But see, Icy-Hot, I gotta warn ya. Just for you, I'll put out 110%."

He turned around, and began to walk towards the exit of the boy's locker room. "I won't just be taking you seriously, you know. I'll be ruthless. So, unless you want to get maimed for life," He turned his head, and looked Todoroki in the eye once more. "You better bring some firepower."

And he stood there, at the exit, waiting for the first-years to be called up.

"That has to be the least-threatening and least-insulting threat he's ever given someone. I don't know if that's a compliment or a worrisome sign."

"I'll take it as something to be ignored."

"Oh, you both can jump off a cliff!"

Todoroki looked toward Izuku. "But, some of what he said isn't wrong at all. When it comes down to it, I'm confident enough to say I'm one of the stronger people in the class. Considering that, and considering what I've seen of you so far, Midoriya, I feel safe in saying I'm stronger and better than you. Objectively speaking."

"Your point?"

"Despite all that, it seems like All Might has his eye on you. Why else would a teacher invite a student to eat lunch with them?" He shook his head. "It's something I can't fathom. But it is something to take care of. Plainly put, I will beat you."

"A declaration of war from Todoroki to Midoriya, Bakugou's eternal rival, immediately after a declaration of war from Bakugou to Todoroki? There's too much tension in this room for me." Mineta commented.

Kirishima was looking worried. "Alright, aggression from Bakugou? That's normal."

"What was that?"

"Bro, you painted a target on the backs of the _entire class_ from what you said to all the other students a couple weeks ago. But, Todoroki? I think it's a bit too early to pick fights, man."

"It doesn't matter. I was never here to make friends, anyway."

"Look, dude-" Midoriya laid a hand on his friend's shoulder with a grim smile on his face.

"It's okay, Kirishima. Todoroki's said his piece. Also, don't forget that this _is_ a competition between us. Not just between all the first-year classes, but also between us, Class 1-A. We've all gotta put in our best effort and scramble for the top. Us, Class 1-B, and everyone from the other courses." He took his attention away from Kirishima and focused it on Todoroki. "By everyone, I'm including myself. To steal from Kacchan a bit, I'm going to be putting in 120%."

" **This thing on? Alright! First-year students, come on out!"** He trudged forward, shrugging by Todoroki and Bakugou.

"So, both of you, be prepared to come at me with all you've got!"

* * *

"Dammit, Bakugou! Why'd you have to say that for?"

"Can it, Soy Sauce!" He yelled as he swung his arms from side to side. Around him was a throng of students, all of them wearing the same white-and-blue U.A. tracksuit. They were standing before a giant gate that would lead to the first event of the Sports Festival, the U.A. Pentathlon.

A grueling race against time, spanning a special Five-kilometres long track that encircled U.A., the Pentathlon was a test of overall fitness. Of course, none of the current racers knew what trials they were to face. They only knew that the event wasn't going to be a simple footrace. A pentathlon has so many different combinations; the ancient Greeks, for example, had a sprint before going into a javelin throw, a discus throw, a long jump, and ending with wrestling. It truly was a test of physical capability.

"Sero's right! I thought everyone was pissed at you then, but just outright declaring you were going to win? Do you know just _how many_ angry mumbles and whispered threats I'm picking up, dammit?"

"Don't care, Air-Pods. It just shows how serious everyone's taking this."

"I think it's a good idea to worry about everyone else, Kacchan." Izuku walked up right next to him. He already completed his stretches and meditation, and was now in a runner's pose. "If you're at the top, then there's always going to be wolves snapping at your feet, trying to take your crown. You wouldn't want to get your crown snagged by a lowly mutt like me, would you?"

" _You_ can go fucking swim in an acid pool, Deku. I'm still pissed at you stealing my words!"

"Didn't you give a declaration of war, kinda like that General Studies student?"

"So did you and Lukewarm! And it's not like I directly copied those words." Todoroki found his way next to Sir Swears-a-lot, opposite of Midoriya. "And then there's _this_ ureter! Fucking goes and declares war on Deku of all people. What sorta dumbass are you, Koi Fish?"

"Unlike you, All Might seems to have his eye on Midoriya. Or, did you not hear me earlier because you were too busy being loud and lousy?"

"I'm gonna-"

" **Racers!** _ **START!"**_


	18. Two-Part Five-Parter pt1

" **And immediately off the bat, the students run into their first obstacle of the Sports Festival's pentathlon: the massive Farquaad Swamp! You'd think this reservoir would be easy for people with water-based Quirks to go through, but wait! As you all can see, this beauty isn't filled with regular water. It's been filled with additives- non toxic and environmentally friendly, rest assured- to make it extremely murky. This helps to even the field. Not only that, but this thing functions as both an endless pool and a wave pool! Competitors have to deal with both currents and surf! What a combination! Don't you agree, bud?"**

" **... Yeah."**

"Midoriya, mon ami. Remind me once more, which teachers are commenting again?"

"Present Mike and Aizawa," he said, not even looking at Ayama as he and every other student made a mad dash for the water. Some students made it their before others, using speed-type Quirks similar to Iida's or, if they were from the Support Course, using special gizmos and gadgets aplenty and whosits and whatsits galore. More speedsters would have joined them in trying to reach the water first, but many of their peers knew that anyone would ice-type Quirks were likely to freeze most of the lake. Matter of fact, most of them counted on it.

Leading the pack of people with icy Quirks was Todoroki, who betrayed expectations and just made fragile platform after fragile platform of ice to make it across the murk.

 _Smart move, Todoroki. Making multiple miniature ice floes makes it easier for you to run ahead while limiting your rivals' options. Sure, you could just freeze everyone in place, but the fact that this is also a wave pool means that ice would eventually break from the vibrations of the waves, the wave generators, or students trying to break out. Instead of spending energy to slow everyone else down, spend energy to speed yourself up!_

Hopping into the water, Izuku felt the currents that threatened to push him back. _Huh. They're not too strong, about 2.5 kph or 1.5mph. Still gonna have to activate Full Cowl though._ _**7%!**_ He tore through the water, leaving many slower students in his wake.

As he worked his way through the artificial tide, switching intermittently between butterfly and breast stroke, he eyed his fellow competitors. A good chunk of people were powering through the waves like he did, but there were also those that crossed differently. The ice-type Quirk users copied Todoroki, Bakugou and several others were using their Quirks to just fly over the lake, one girl was using her hair-vines as a makeshift boat… so many interesting ways to use a Quirk!

Of course, he was also doing this to see how well his classmates had improved their abilities. Since All Might had shared the information on Shigaraki with the rest of his class, everybody was now on high alert. But just being alert didn't mean someone could win in an altercation, especially not with someone who can decay whatever they touched. This Sports Festival was not only the best way for Izuku to see how he grew, but also to gauge his classmates preparedness for another thing like USJ.

And prepared they were. He could easily see Bakugou flying farther, Aoyama using his Lasers for longer, and Ochako's lessened nausea. He could see all of his classmates in various states of improvement, holding on longer and better determined to get through whatever obstacle was in their way. From Dark Shadow and Ojiro's propeller-like motions to Ashido's usage of acid to slide across the water, he noted that everyone was better at thinking outside the box, of being creative with what they had.

Speaking of creativity, he noticed a couple of people that weren't going over the lake at all. Instead, they were shimmying as fast as they could along the side of the reservoir, up against the wall that cordoned-off the pentathlon pathway. _Well, they never said we had to swim across anyway. Actually... maybe those students had the smarter idea. Just going along this track makes us believe there's only one, maybe two, routes available for us. I'm surprised this idea didn't come to me sooner..._

Reaching the other side, Izuku leapt out of the water. Sadly, he wasn't the first student to make it to the other side. Todoroki and Bakugou, as well as a couple of other students that took the high way instead of the water way, already beat him. It didn't matter too much, though- his Full Cowl allowed him to outspeed many of his competitors as they made their way to the next part of the pentathlon.

" **Look at all the stragglers! This first leg of the race has weeded out a lot of the less fit students. Try again next year, folks! But I say, enough about them. Let's admire everyone else, the ones who made it outta that pool! Look at them go! As expected, all of the Hero Course students got through. Eraserhead, you and Blood King certainly put those kids through the ringer in all your training sessions!"**

" **Being a Hero demands a certain level of physical fitness to fall back on in case your Quirk isn't capable enough."**

" **Right you are, partner! And more of that physicality is going to be tested with the next part of the pentathlon- Brokeback Mountain! Well, mountain is a bit of a misnomer, but its basically a 9 meter high rock-climbing challenge! As you can see, the course continues at the top of the climb. What these young racers have to do is to climb up three different rocky surfaces, each one ending with a small platform to allow for rest. At the bottom is the 70 degree surface, followed by the completely vertical 90 degree surface, and topped off with the 110 degree surface! That's right, you youngins have to climb partially upside down! For those lacking confidence, we have harnesses, pads, helmets and ropes to help you if you fall. Just know that gear takes a while to put on!"**

" **Students, do not forget that if you fall and do not have a harness, the Marshmallow Hero Stay-Puft is there to help you with his Marshmallow Quirk. Do note that he will safely let you down to the lowest level, meaning that you lose progress."**

"My Quirk is more suited for running along horizontal surfaces," Iida began to say. "However! If I cannot overcome such a triviality, how can I call myself a Hero in training, much less a Hero?" He clenched his fist. "Midoriya… just like you… I will forge on ahead!" Orange flames spewed from his Engines as he ran. Rather than trying to climb normally, Iida instead used the small protrusions along the rock surface as stepping stones, allowing him to zig-zag his way up the first two cliff faces before stopping at the beginning of the third.

Up there, there were already a couple of people beginning their own climb up the 110 degree wall. Ahsido's control over the viscosity of her acid provided her some extra grip strength as well as Asui's natural abilities and long tongue. Several support students were using various contraptions to scale the rock surface, including one pink-haired girl laughing maniacally about babies or something. Bakugou's explosive abilities allowed him to maintain balance as well as accelerate up the surface, and Todoroki's ice allowed him to make portions of the wall easier to grip through. Mineta's sticky balls were very effective on the rock, as were the special equipment Yaoyorozu created. Ochako being lightweight was a boon to her, Shoji's multiple arms were great, andJiro's jacks were providing excellent support. Midoriya was very proud to be their classmate.

Of course, he needed to climb higher and higher, too. He could admire his classmates all he could, but if gawking held him back, then he wouldn't be having any of it. So he coated each limb in Full Cowl and just plowed them into the surface of the rock.

 _A lot of people have already made it past me, and each one has affected the handholds in some way. They could be weakened, or are just too sweaty to get a good grip. I could lose balance. Losing balance leads to losing time, and losing time means I can't make a good enough impression on the Pros._

" **Wowee! Look at all those power-type Quirk users go! Following in student Midoriya Izuku's example, they're making holes in the wall to get up the surface rather than relying on the handholds! But how will they fare later on if their knuckles start to ache, I wonder?"**

" **In Midoriya's case, it works well, especially on the third rock surface. He's punching in holes at angles that counteract the slope, enabling a stronger hold."**

"Ha ha! There's goes my buddy's brain at work. You go, dude! But don't think I won't catch up with ya and Bakugou!" Kirishima grunted as he made a hole in the stone. However, his blow also made a couple cracks and a depression that wasn't, well, holey enough. "Darn, too slow of a punch. Again!"

"Ah, there we go!" "Ah, there we go!"

Two sets of voices, similar in manner, spoke at once. Kirishima turned to the left, and locked eyes with another student. It was the student who had called out Bakugou a couple of weeks ago, the one that was similar to Kirishima. Unlike before, his skin was covered in glittering Steel, similar to Kirishima's own Hardened skin. He got a bit excited, and held out a hand for a fist bump.

"Eijiro Kirishima. You?"

"Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu." They bumped fists, and Tetsutetsu began climbing faster. "Don't fall behind, copycat!"

"Don't lose your way, echo!"

At the top of the climbing structure, Izuku looked amused at the sight of what were essentially two Kirishimas. He slapped himself for getting distracted, and moved on to the third portion of the pentathlon, dodging a body that had been sent flying. Judging from the look of disgust he could see on Jiro as he passed her, he assumed it was Mineta. Returning his attention to what was in front of him, he couldn't help but grin in excitement.

" **And the leaders of the pack, Todoroki and Bakugou, have already led everyone else into the Skyscraper Scamper!**

" **This part represents a the canopy of the concrete jungle, the rooftops! And on these rooftops are various obstacles for you students to cross in some way, shape, or form. Walls, hurdles, slippery surfaces, small robots meant to simulate the roughhousing Japanese youth of from Pre-Quirk era, et cetera. Of course, that's just the upper path. Some of you more adventurous, or perhaps heavier, might take the lower path- busting through windows and having to run through various office rooms, apartments, and more! It's like something straight from a video game! And of course, watch out for the bottomless pits!"**

" **Again, students, if you fall from the rooftops or the lower rooms, do not worry. The Spider Hero, Arachne, has lain down a series of webs to safely catch you 2 floors below the roof. Do note that if you touch the web, a robot will bring you to the building you previously successfully jumped off of, making you lose some progress. Also, do not try and run along the webs to get to the other side. Doing so will be disqualification. Do not cheat."**

Izuku was bubbly on the inside. Yeah, the martial arts training he ded, the weights he lifted, all of that was fun. He had a good amount of dopamine released. However, since receiving One For All and creating Full Cowl, he decided it would be nice to do some more whole-body training, something more stamina-intensive than just hitting a bag. So he decided to trry his hand at parkour.

It was glorious. The feeling of speed, of flying through the air. The adrenaline from being high up off the ground. Plus, it gave him a great workout. Really, Izuku felt like there was nothing better than a good rooftop run. Or, as was the case during his training, junkyard run.

Now, him scampering around the tops of buildings or around junk piles required a certain refined movement to them, a way to move around and position himself. In order to do this, Izuku looked to his memory to see a person he knew was amazing at agility, and someone whose moves he studied for long periods of time. That person was Bakugou.

He emulated those movements during his training sessions, and he emulated them at Festival too. That painted a target on his back, and he could hear the missle screaming.

" **Deku you misbegotten son of a leprous donkey! Your ass is grass!** " Knowing what was coming, he used a pole to reorient himself away from the explosion-powered kick. Rolling on the ground, he did not stop. He continued to run, jumping over a wooden fence and darting around a table set. "You stealing ass. **Come here!** "

"Don't people say that mimicry is the highest form of flattery?" A palm appeared beside him. He decided to jump off the simulated rooftop and crash through a window into what looked like a replica of Endeavor's office. There were only two sofas, a desk and chair, and a rug. Oh, and there was also Shoto there, freezing everything as he ran. He was surprised by Midoriya's sudden entrance, and even more so by a screaming Bakugou.

Here, Midoriya realized that he was slowing down a bit. The ice was everywhere, stealing some of his traction.

"Sorry, Todoroki!" Running up to him, he then jumped and drop-kicked him at an angle. The force of the kick was enough to help him regain some lost speed, and he used that momentum to jump out another fake window and onto a fake balcony.

" **And look at that! Ladies and gentlemen, it seems that Izuku Midoriya has taken the lead, beating out SHoto Todoroki! That man so far has managed to ace everything this pentathlon threw at him, but here he is losing momentum! Nice job on ya, Midoriya!"**

He was first? Neat.

What was not so neat was the feeling of two very different temperatures nipping at his nape. Using some glass panels to look behind him, he could see every other student behind him. Some were flying, most were leaping. He could see Arachne and the robots hard at work making sure no kid accidentally fell to their death because of the pentathlon.

He could also see Bakugou and Todoroki, eyes determined and focusing all on him.

This was going to be a problem, wasn't it?


	19. Two-Part Five-Parter pt2

**Error during initial upload. Error is fixed.**

* * *

"Mineta, you disgusting pervert! Get your hands and balls away from me!"

"No dice, Yaomomo! I need a ride to the finish, and that ride is gonna be- **oof!** " The bowl of grapes was sent flying by a slightly charred chimney fan, knocking him onto the webbing below. Like several other students, he was an unfortunate casualty of the brawling heroes leading the pack.

Izuku, Todoroki, and Bakugou were attacking each other, punching and kicking and freezing and exploding as they jumped across the faux rooftops. Granted, it was the first event of the Festival, so they weren't going all out; still, they were a flurry of action.

Between focusing on obstacles in their path, jumps to avoid the setback-webs below, and trying to hit each other with an attack, the head of the pack slowed down considerably. This caused a few of the faster students to catch up to them, only to be immediately dragged into the expanding rumble. Iida was the first one; the engines on his Calves enabled him to leap without worry, causing him to catch up quick. He tried to keep away from the fight by sticking to the side. Unfortunately, Bakugou, in trying to throw something at Icy Hot and take a complete first place, went out of his way to find a human projectile.

A student with a mantis-like head was the next to join the fray. Unlike Iida, however, he actively searched for the fight. He was as hotblooded as Bakugou, and even had a mohawk similar to the Explodoneer's hairdo. Speaking of which, he was currently using Razors protruding from his body to attack Bakugou and block his explosions.

Sero's usage of his Tape Quirk allowed him to easily catch up to the brawl, as did a Beast-like student, an avian student, and quite a few others. The rumble eventually included 20 people, all trying to either incapacitate each other or, in poor Sero's case, escape. He even tried to escape by going backwards, but some student with a Chameleon Quirk dragged him back in.

Eventually, however, Izuku saw his opening to move past the brawl and clear this portion of the pentathlon. There was a moment were Todoroki took his attention away from Izuku; Bakugou was already preoccupied with mantis. Fact is, those two were the most dangerous opponents Izuku had to deal with in the brawl, and their attention was not focused on him!

 _The iron's hot, time to strike! Boost: 17%!_ With a quick rush of One For All to the legs, Izuku shot forward like a comet, easily putting distance between him and everyone else. _Nice. Boost, disengage!_ He went back to using regular Full Cowl, knowing that despite everyone noticing the stunt he just pulled, he would be able to get away with it.

Like everyone else, his two biggest rivals noticed that stunt too, and broke away from the students around them to pursue. As more and more students tried to catch up to the three, the fighting dispersed, and they all went back to trying to race. However, that didn't stop Bakugou and Todoroki from trying to take shots at each other or at the first-place person.

 _Damn! I've painted a target on my back, and the paint is waterproof. There's no way I'll be able to wash it off and get those two off my tail, not unless I drop to tenth or something. Still, the fact that nobody intervened during that mosh pit means that the teachers were expecting us to use our Quirks against each other._ He dodged some ice and jumped from the interior of one fake building to the rooftop of another. _That information would've been a bit helpful at the start, really. Now, I can see everyone behind us all trying to use their Quirks against each other. In the parkour run. Not the best place to start a fight, really. Not too many good holds to prevent someone from touching the webs and being sent back a building._

 _But I don't really need to worry about that part._ With a final push, Izuku touched down on solid ground and took off running. He soon heard the other two people as they raced, followed by a growing stampede of students. The martial artist eventually spied the next portion: a large cave, two-and-a-half stories tall.

" **Magnificent job, Midoriya! Even through all that scuffling and scrapping, the young student manages to keep his status as first place in the race! But, will he retain it until the very end? The penultimate leg of the pentathlon will challenge that. Get ready, ladies and germs, because the race is entering the Mine Sweeper!"**

" **The obstacle here is a dimly-lit artificial cave system with multiple winding paths. There's one entrance that quickly splits into multiple paths, each one a different length. Heroes need to be able to make snappy decisions and judgements based on intuition, and this part of the pentathlon tests that."**

" **A Hero's gut feeling is one of the most valuable assets they can have! Learn to trust it, get on the fastest route, and make it to the last stretch of the race! Go, students, go!"**

 _Intuition? Okay, yeah, sure, I understand the need to stress it. However..._ Greenie thought to himself as he sprinted through the mouth of the cave. _Intuition's only good if a person can recognize the subtle cues that prime it. So_ _who's_ _going to recognize the cues of a_ _cave system_ ‽ He skid to a stop in front of eight different pathways- an upper row of four he would have to jump up to and a lower row of four. Each one was dark, and placed far enough away from any lightsource that Izuku couldn't see any difference. _What, did they expect all of us to have gone spelunking before? We're not like the United State's Man-O-Bats!_

Despite all his internal monologue, Midoriya did feel something pulling at him. He felt as though his soul was trying to drag his body, to move it to one of the entrances. _Realy, now? Guess I underestimated the human subconscious._ He could hear explosions getting closer, and he could feel the temperature dropping. _I need to hurry. Let's get moving!_ With no hesitation at all, he jumped to his chosen pathway. It was a branching road on the upper level, and middle-right.

As soon as he entered, he saw the path and immediately asked himself if whoever design the pentathlon's segments played videogames all day. The rock was damp and smoother, and angled downwards like some sort of slide. Of course, protrusions of fake rock provided obstacles for him to slip past and jump over. And, of course, there were pointy stalagmites and stalactites to avoid- although, he would need to purposely drive himself into them for them to be any sort of threat.

As he pondered on the design of the course, he felt someone slam into his back. He just barely managed to get stable footing, preventing him from sliding when he didn't want to.

"Greenie? The hell're ya doing spacing out? Get moving!"

"Jiro, huh? I'm kinda surprised you didn't hear that I was up here from my breathing or something." She wiped a bit of sweat from her brow.

"Kinda hard to do that when so there's so much noise. Now, hurry up and move, dammit! Bakugou and Todoroki are probably halfway outta this cave by now, and I'm pretty sure a lot of people are already ahead of you."

"Good point. Well, see you on the flip-"

"Ribbit!" Before he could leave to slide down the damp slope, he saw Tsuyu jump up from behind Jiro. "Hey guys!" Before any more conversation could happen, Ashido made her way up too. Except, she also bumped into Tsuyu, causing them to bump into Jiro, who bumped again into Midoriya. Then, somehow, Hagakure also showed up to add to the pile, and then Ochako added to the took a bit of effort to make sure he didn't go down the slope before he wanted to.

 _Thank you, past me, for never skipping leg day, core day, and balance day._ As he was about to help all of them get balanced, some girl with an orange ponytail rammed into the group. A girl with horns and hoof-like feet, a girl with parts of her body floating around her in a cubical form, the chick with the pink hair and gadgetry, they all joined him. Then came vine-hair girl, a girl with hair that looked like a mushroom, a girl with black hair that looked like a kuudere, and a girl that looked like some sort of poltergeist.

As izuku struggled to retain his balance, Yaoyorozu came up with the "brilliant" idea to launch herself at the same path as everyone else chose… using a cannon. The momentum, plus the weight of all the females, finally caused Izuku to buckle and force him and everyone else to tumble down the slippery, fake-rocky, slope.

After a short tumble, he managed to right himself before he could plow right from a stalactite. Luckily for him, he found out that all of the stalactites and stalagmites were foam; U.A. didn't want to make them too dangerous for students. The other rocky protrusions, however, were made of wood. He found himself ramming through these things too often, leading him to slow down and lose his balance some more, causing a chain of reactions that led to him being part of a human snowball with all of the teenage girls around him.

Now, the Mine Sweeper had cameras in it so that all the audience could see what each and every student had to deal with. When Izuku began to roll down his pathway engulfed in a ball of girls, everyone was visibly confused.

" **... Hey, Eraserhead? Do you think someone spiked our coffee?"**

" **No, because we made the coffee ourselves, poured it ourselves, and made sure no one touched our mugs."**

" **... You think the author did drugs?"**

" **Author?"**

" **Nevermind what I said. Just… just know that I am very confused at what is happening here."**

" **Well, you aren't the only one."**

It seemed that Izuku's intuition led him to a short-enough path, for the ball of people was out of the cave system in no time. However, everyone was too discombobulated to move, and they were all dogpiling Izuku.

Mineta was one of the next people to get out, using a different pathway. When he saw that Izuku was under all of those women, he almost passed out from a jealousy-induced heart attack. He managed to control himself, however, and settled for running past the group while giving Izuku the stink-eye.

" **Well, ignoring what just happened… it seems that, throughout all that, young Bakugou took the winning shortcut, and is currently in first place! He's leading the pack as they race towards the last leg of the pentathlon, a straight Sprint! Think that's easy, do ya? So far, these challengers have had to traverse three kilometers of obstacles, meaning they're all feeling tired. The last 2k of the race will surely-"**

" **Stop trying to overhype things, Present Mic. Smart students would've been able to pace themselves, meaning they would have plenty of stamina for the final sprint."**

" **That still doesn't stop the fact that everyone's starting to pour out of the caves, with each one knowing they can use their Quirks to achieve victory! If you, the audience, thought the rumble at the Skyscraper Scamper was bad-"**

" **Which it wasn't."**

" **Then you're going to have a treat watching this!"**

"Damn it, I've fallen too far behind! Sorry girls, for what I'm about to do…"

"Uh... what did you say again?"

"But I… am _not_ … an anime! _Harem!_ _ **Protagonist!**_ " With a roar, he stood up, launching all the other students off of him. "17% Boost!" He didn't bother dusting his clothes off, instead immediately breaking into a sprint.

As the announcers stated, everyone was using their Quirks now as offensively as possible while still holding back for the other events. Kirishima was in a dust cloud of flailing limbs, he could see people trapped in Mineta's sticky balls, several people were wrapped up in Sero's tape. Some blonde kid was engaging in a beam battle with Aoyama with what looked like a carbon copy of Navel Laser. Koda was commandeering a flock of birds to peck at everyone, Razor the Mantis-headed was flailing his blades everywhere as he rushed towards the exit, and some guy was running around welding people to the straightaway.

This scenery went past him in a blur as he tried to catch up to the first-place figure of Bakugou. His Boosted leg muscles were definitely faster than his rival's explosive propellers, but Bakugou didn't have to dodge bodies that were being thrown into him.

 _Leapfrog here, slide down there. Spin, somersault, moonsault. Jump up, use that Tetsutetsu guy as a spring board while he's running. Gotta make it to first place, gotta make it to first place…. Damn, I won't make it at this rate. There's too many people in my way, blocking my route! I fell too far behind, got caught by the crowd. The only way I'm able to get there is if I go faster, but using a Boost for this long is already starting to strain my legs… I can't-_

" **By the way, students, as you head towards the finish line, remember to stop by Recovery Girl's Nurse Station after the race to get any injuries patched up!"**

An idea sparked into Izuku's mind after hearing that. Since Recovery Girl was here, that meant he could pump more of One For All into his legs! Sure, the resulting Healing Kiss he would receive would sap away at his stamina, but with the training he did in preparation for the Festival, it wouldn't be enough to put him down. Besides, his mother was here, and he had asked her to pack him some lunch in case he needed it. And, with a strong enough Boost, the resulting air pressure would blow away anyone in his way, giving him a straight path to go by Bakugou and get that first place!

 _Wait, since when did Revocery Girl have a station here? Was that information presented to all of us or did I just gloss over it? No, stop it, Izuku, focus! Focus on using something more than 17%. Something that will get me to that finish line and not make the old lady too mad at me for hurting myself. Okay, alright! Let's go!_

"23% Boost!"

The power increase was only six percent. But that small difference was enough to send Izuku forward like a green rocket. To the surrounding students, the almost instantaneous acceleration felt like a bomb going off, especially to anyone close by. People were sent flying in all directions during Midoriya's charge, and anyone he blitzed into was knocked away, barely slowing him down.

" **WOW! Look at Midoriya rushing forward toward Bakugou! He's like a missle now! Where did this hidden reserve of energy come from?"**

" **Probably from him pacing himself for the entire pentathlon until he heard that Recovery Girl had a nursing station here."**

" **He might just make it to the finish line in first place from this sudden burst of power!"**

Most students couldn't react as he barreled through them, only hearing a loud noise before having a comet impact into them. Others, such as Iida, had the appropriate reaction time to deal with Izuku. However, their bodies weren't fast enough to match their reactions- other than Iida, but rather than try and stop Izuku like others were doing he just used Engine to move himself out of the strike zone.

One student he passed by, though, had both the reaction speed and the movement speed to do something to Midoriya.

Todoroki, seeing Midoriya move past him, put his freezing abilities into overdrive, sending a massive wave of ice crystals at his rival. At this point, Izuku had been running in a straight line; now, he was doing small hops and sidesteps, dodging and weaving and snaking his way to his blonde opponent and making it hard for Todoroki to catch him at all.

Bakugou was not doing nothing throughout all this. He heard the sound of the Boost, and pushed his explosive power as far as he could take it while still saving for the rest of the Festival. It wasn't enough, though, and soon Midoriya ended up right behind him, riding his slipstream. But it was also at this moment that the martial artist's shoe toughed the tiniest sliver of Todoroki's ice.

That was still enough to slip him up, sending him spiraling into Bakugou and knocking him away on impact. Had he not hit his head on Bakugou like he did, he would've been able to reorient himself and continue on to first place. Had his legs not been strained by the previous uses of Boost, he would've been able to reorient himself. But as it stood, he was discombobulated, unable to help himself as his control over One For All faltered and his speed decelerated. He might've been able to still cross the finish line as first place like this, but then he face-planted into the wall right next to the line.

" **Ouch, what a wipeout! Is Midoriya still able to recover from this? Can he still make it to fi- no, nevermind, here comes Todoroki taking the top spot for himself! And there's goes Bakugou, and the rest of the students right behind him! Poor Midoriya, but he still has a chance to advance to the second event if he can just get within the top 42! Will this man make it?"**

 _Nngh… All Might asked me to show the world that I'm here, and I can't do that from dopping out here!_ He tried his best to get onto his feet, which were shaking. He knew that putting One For All into them would be too dangerous, especially in the long run. His legs weren't able to run to the finish line, which was oh so tantalizingly close, in time to be part of the 42; his arms, however, could take him there.

With a Boost to his hand, he gripped the dirt and threw himself forward, bumping another student out of the way and finally crossing that finish line.

" **And he did it, folks! Midoriya, place 42, enters the next part of the competition!** "

His legs may have been shaky, but they still had strength to let him stand high, with his arms raised and his fists clenched. He gave a wide smile.

"I am here!"


	20. Filler Talks

"You stupid, stupid fool! Just because you're the successor doesn't mean you have to be as idiotic as your master!" Despite this, Recovery Girl stretched her lips out and gave Izuku a kiss on the arm. Her Quirk went to work on his arms and legs, and he could feel the damaged ligaments repairing while the bone fragmentations closed. And, of course, he felt a loss of stamina. Still, he felt good enough to get out of bed and move around, but was smacked on the arm by the old lady's cane before he could do so.

"Hold on, young man. Before you leave, I'd like for you to ingest these." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small ziploc baggie of gummy bears.

"Candy? Well, this should make a nice appetizer before I eat the extra food my mom prepared for me."

"Good on you for planning ahead, young'un, but I assure you an extra meal isn't really necessary. Those gummies are chock-full of caloric energy, and are designed to digest rapidly. By the time the break between the first and second events ends in fifteen minutes or so, you'll already be good enough to go. No need to wait for your mother's cooking to go through your system." Izuku raised an eyebrow.

"Am I to believe this sort of miracle-food actually exists? Am I to believe this hasn't been mentioned in the news yet or something? It must have only been recently approved by the Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Agency, right?"

"Somewhat. They've only been recently approved, yes, but only since last year. The reason why this item doesn't appear too often on the internet is because they're expensive, and because sales are meticulously tracked to ensure no one abuses these." She sighed and smiled. "In any case, it is refreshing to see someone with your type of mindset at your age. Most kids, especially those wanting to be Heroes, are more impulsive and less cautious. That alone makes you less of a headache than Toshinori."

" **I am here!** "

"Speaking of," she turned around to face All Might, who was in his muscular form and at the door.

" **Young Midoriya! Excellent performance out there! Of course, you being consistently in the top rankings for the pentathlon caught the eyes of many Pros, but it was when you finally crossed that finish line at the last moment that really got the Heroes roari- Gah!** " Recovery Girl started to repeatedly thwack him with her can. " **Wait, wait, wait, Recovery Girl! C'mon, stop hitting me!** "

"With that hunk Sorahiko not being around in U.A. anymore to do it, someone has to knock some sense into you, Toshinori! Now, close the door and detransform already; stop wasting the time you can spend as All Might."

" **Yes, ma'am!** " A poof of smoke later, and All Might was nothing more than skin and bones. " **Now, continuing where I left off… Young Midoriya, that was quite a spectacle! As your classmate, Young Aoyama, would say, that was very flashy!** "

"Yeah, I know! I've seen too many news clips and civilian videos about a Hero turning the tide at the last second. Heroes need to have those Tenets, sure, but being liked and capable of hyping the crowd is pretty important."

"' **Support comes in many shapes and sizes.' As expected of you, you're taking class lessons to heart. It's a bit of a shame, then, that not everyone does. And I don't just mean Young Bakugou.** "

"Are you talking about Todoroki?"

"Ooh, that poor boy. I've told him time and time again that only using part of your Quirk will hurt you, but it seems he's as stubborn as the both of you. At the very least, he seems to be taking care of himself well, though it's been a while since I've seen eyes as hurt as those in a U.A. Student."

" **Hmm. I… talked to his father on my way here.** "

"Really? Endeavor, the No. 2 Pro?"

" **Yes. Enji Todoroki. He didn't have much to say, but what he said… he treats his son more like a tool than anything else.** "

Thoughts began to swirl in Izuku's head regarding what he now knew about his classmate. He and Todoroki weren't friends, really, but hearing this was still troubling. Izuku's bleeding heart wanted him to make his peer better at using his Quirk, so he planned on pressuring him until the fires came out. But, he never realized that, like a weed, Todoroki's problem had a root. It was obvious to him now that the root was Endeavor, and that the root was going to be harder to clear. It wasn't like he could just up and talk to the Half-Hot Half-Cold user about such a sensitive topic. A situation like this needed more tact, more thought put to it; trying to overpower and stress Todoroki with One For All would simply lead to more problems.

As he and All Might exited Recovery Girl's nursing station, All Might in his buf form so he could talk to reporters, he didn't see the answer to his problem listening in from behind the corner of the hall.

* * *

Izuku was resting in the competitors' stands, still thinking about his conundrum, when he saw someone else in need: Ojiro, user of the Tail Quirk, who was sitting down, face concerned and tail drooping like a dog's. Getting up out of his seat, he made his way over to the much tamer blonde in his class.

"Hey, Ojiro." He sat down next to the Hero Course's King of Normal. "Mind if I sit here while waiting for the second event to start?"

"Oh, no, don't worry. It's fine. Although, please don't sit in that particular seat; Hagakure asked me to reserve some seats for her and the girls."

"Noted." And so he sat down next to him, and both momentarily basked in the not-awkward silence. Ojiro spoke up.

"Do I actually look that miserable or something?"

"I wouldn't say miserable, more dep in thought. Still, I'm a sucker for helping others, and you looked like you needed some help. If not anything else, is there something you'd like to get off of your chest? I'm a good active listener." The Tail man just sighed in response as he collected his thoughts.

"How to say this… you see that guy there?" He used his tail to point at someone mulling around in the General Studies bleachers. It was the insomniac-looking teen with messy lavender hair, looking disinterested at everything before him; though, he did seem to have his attention focused on the Hero Course's bleachers.

"Wisteria locks?"

"That's the one. I've been thinking about him and some events that happened during the first event. It's… something distressing for me. Makes me feel like I shouldn't be here in the top 42 moving on to the next event. There's also this feeling of invasion, violation of my mental space. The feeling of being trapped in my own body, just watching the world go by and unable to do anything while my body moved without my input. It's concerning." He thought about something. "Hey, Midoriya, you're very Quirk-savvy, right? Very knowledgeable about application, usage and strategies?"

"Very much so. Why? Are you thinking your discomfort is somehow related to a Quirk of his?"

"Well, I need to explain more of what happened. During the first and second portions of the pentathlon, I wasn't just dragging myself forward."

"I saw. For some reason, you were letting that guy ride on your back as you climbed and swam. It wasn't just you; it was several people forming a pontoon and a human ladder. Wait, did… did that guy… control you guys somehow? Like, threads or something to control your body? No, wait, you said things relating to your mental state, mental space, and how you felt your body was on autopilot. His Quirk is likely something mental that allows him to control the actions of others. Some form of Mind Hijacking? Mind Control? Brainwashing? Did you do something that allowed him to take over your body, Ojiro?"

"Yeah. It's something a bit simple, really. He just asked me how my Quirk worked, and then I answered. Next thing I knew, I… I felt out of it. I felt locked in. He then told me and several others, 'form a pontoon and swim me across.' I guess that ability of his is activated by him talking and someone answering back? I don't know. While under control, though, i saw some guy just nod and already he was under that purple-haired person's control, so I guess it doesn't need to be vocal." He felt a pat on the back, and looked to see Midoriya giving him a jocular grin.

"Hey, nice job, Ojiro! You're like a natural at this Quirk analysis thing. I guess since you're a martial artist, and you probably do some meditation, you have strong cognitive processes." He dropped the grin. "But man. Brainwashing based on whether or not a person responds to your statements or questions… man, that'd be such a useful ability to have out on the field, especially as a hero! Think about how many confrontations could be settled, without much property damage or injuries to civilians. Just ask a thug to get in the police car, wait for him to laugh and call you an idiot, and then you've got him trapped!" Before he could ramble on any further, Izuku noticed the stink eye that Ojiro was giving him. "Alright, I'll stop praising such a useful Quirk for now.

Back to the matter at hand, you feel like you don't belong here with us, right? Simply because you weren't able to control yourself during the pentathlon?"

"What do you mean 'simply?' I'm distressed over that, dude. Like, it wasn't by my skill I got this far."

"But, the pentathlon was less about skill and more about physical abilities. That wasn't something akin to a combat scenario or something, no. It was about whether someone could make it from point A to point B. Sure, you weren't the one making your body do it, but you were still able to pass the first event. That's a testament to how well you trained your body for the School Festival."

"... I get that that's a silver lining, but that's kind of a weak silver lining."

"Alright then, how about this: get that kinda thinking out of your head. You'll only damage yourself during the second event if you keep thinking negatively. It'll impact your performance, and then you won't be able to make your way forward. It'll make you less likely to be selected as a potential Sidekick for Pro Heroes. So, stick your chin out, bear with the pain, and make a show during this next event!"

It took him a few seconds of just staring at Izuku and contemplating his words, but eventually he gave a small smile.

"Alright, fine, you win. I'll accept your advice and try to hype myself up for the next part."

"That's the spirit!" He patted his acquaintance on the back. "Now all you need is some sort of cheerleader. Do you have a close friend in Class A that could cheer you on? If not, then I'll do it."

"Ah, please. You're not really someone I'd call a friend- more of a person-i-just-know. Why do something like that for me? In any case, I really have no need for a cheerleader."

At that moment, a certain grape got an idea.

"... Nah, I'll save that idea for the third event when we get to it."

" **And now,** "

"Ah, speaking of which!"

" **It's time to announce…**

 **Our second event!** "

* * *

 **Omake: Karted**

After all the crap that went down during the Festival, everybody needed a brake. So, all of Class 1-A decided they wanted to visit an arcade and have some fun playing games and being young.

Ojiro won a plush toy monkey from the claw machine, and decided to give it to Hagakure. They were right in front of a sailing boat-themed arcade game as they did this, so Mineta joked about a ship that sailed. He also made comments that would make a movie XXX-rated, so Hagakure swabbed his poop deck.

Jiro and Bakugou were currently shredding it on a Guitar Hero game. Their song of choice? Through the Fire and the Flames, on the hardest difficulty. Koda thought he saw the plastic guitars begin to melt from how fast Jiro and Bakugou's hands were moving as he hugged a rabbit plushie.

Kirishima and Sado were having fun at the punching machine. Emphasis on "were," because the machine broke when they punched it. Eventually, they decided to just play a fighting game- Street Fighter II.

Iida and Aoyama were killing it as they played Dance Dance Revolution and danced to Captain Jack. Although, Aoyama's stylishness got the better of him as he tripped over his own two feet, crashed into Iida, and accidentally unplugged the game. Though, he was losing, so maybe that wasn't an accident.

Midoriya, Uraraka, Todoroki, Tsuyu, Momo, and Kaminari were having fun plating Mario Kart, and were currently in the last lap of the last stage: Rainbow Road. Throughout the game, Todoroki and Midoriya eache vied for the number one spot, and both were currently tied in terms of points. However, in the game at the moment, Midoriya was in first place and slowly closing in on the finish line.

"Sorry, Midoriya, but take this Blue Shell!"

"A Blue Shell in second‽ How‽" Midoriya exclaimed, as the resultant explosion made him lose all momentum.

"I smuggled it from when I dropped to 10th place." He said, as he passed by Midoriya. He also accidentally nudged him over the side of the track, causing him to fall down. "Oops, sorry."

As the little Lakitu put Midoriya's character back on track, he got hit by a Green Shell. Then a Red Shell, courtesy of Uraraka. Then Momo used a Mushroom to speed by him, sending him once again into the void. As he returned, Kaminari used a lightning bolt, which hit Midoriya's character and stunned him. Tsuyu then drove over the tiny Midoriya. A CPU Bowser then used a Bullet Bill, which again knocked Midoriya off the track. Before his character could get back on, a CPU Shy Guy left a Banana Peel right at Midoriya's feet, making him slip up. When he recovered, a CPU Toad with a Star rushed by him; luckily, this did not put him off the track. Instead, it put him directly in the way of a Green Shell. Then some CPU threw a Bomb-Omb, which blasted him off the track again.

Currently, Midoriya was 11th. As his character tried to gain momentum and start driving forward again, a CPU Waluigi came in from behind, nudged him out of the way, and stole 11th place, leaving Midoriya at dead last.

An assistant manager at the arcade told them all to leave the ruins of the arcade after Midoriya went apeshit.


	21. I Never Played Splatoon Before pt1

" **Hello again, ladies and germs! It's your hosts, Present Mic and Eraserhead! We're ready to announce what the next Sports Festival event is going to be! Just like with the Pentathlon, an intern has given me a note with the event scrawled on it, chosen at random! And on my note reads: Turf War! Get ready, folks, because things are going to get messy as our students have an all-out paintball fight!"**

" **Why we have that as an event is still beyond me. In any case, we should make preparations. Students, Cementoss will change the layout of the arena to be more fitting for the event. While your teacher fixes the stage, you'll all make your own preparations. Spend 7 minutes to make a team of 3 or 4 people, then go to garage G1 to register your team and get your equipment for the paintball fight."**

" **Turf War! Squid Inkantation!"**

" **When everything is ready, you'll return so we can give you the next set of instructions. Do hurry up; the audience is waiting."**

This next event, unlike the previous one, called for strategy and cooperation over pure athleticism. Much like their hunter-gatherer ancestors that cornered and preyed upon much stronger beings, Heroes need these two traits to take out more dangerous villains and more safely handle disasters and accidents!

It was this type of event that stirred something in Midoriya, an adrenaline and excitement tied to his mind rather than his body. Already his eyes were roaming across the mass of students, thinking about which Quirks would be useful in a paintball fight. As he did, he saw Bakugou, and immediately told himself that there was no way he could team up with the foul-mouthed, violent blonde. Apparently, other people thought this as well; there were less people around Bakugou than there were when earlier, before the team-up rule was stated. Bakugou still had people around him, however, and he could see his contemporary strategizing what Quirk would be most useful to him.

"Oi, extras! I don't know any of y'alls names, but that doesn't matter. Just fucking tell me what each of your Quirks do!" Well, his strategizing would need more time.

Unlike Bakugou, people were flocking around Todoroki, each person asking to be a part of his team. Unlike the living dynamite's burning aura, Todoroki gave off a chill vibe, and his cooler nature was more accepting to other students. That, along with his unique and powerful Half-Hot Half-Cold Quirk, attracted potential team mates.

Izuku was, like everyone else, somewhere in the middle- neither attracting nor mostly repelling potential teammates. He was simply bumping into others and being bumped into, trying his best to make conversation and win people over onto his team, but everyone else either already had someone or wanted to ask someone else first. He had a lucky break, however, when he came across the purple-haired guy Ojiro encountered earlier.

"Hello there, you with the purple hair." The other student turned to face him. "I'll get to the chase- I know what you did during the race to the other students- some form of mind control, right?" He saw the student immediately tense up. "I'd like for you and your ability to be on my team." "He then saw the tension recede, if only for a small amount. _Information to file away for later should I see him again._ As he waited for the other person's response, he could see his companion's sleep-deprived eyes look into his own, apparently wary of something. _Definitely information to file away for later._

"... Why?" He asked cautiously.

"Why not? Especially since you have such an amazing Quirk." As he said this, he remembered something from some time ago, the day the Sports Festival was announced. It was about an incident in the hallway outside the Hero Course's classrooms, one where a declaration of war was made. "Wait a moment, I remember you- you're a General Ed student, right? Man, it's a real shame the Hero Course entrance exams focus much on combat ability, because your Quirk would be perfect for a Hero!"

"Woah! Stop, hold on. Did… did you just say my Quirk would be perfect for a… for a Hero?"

"Of course! It's so useful, especially when having to deal with criminals. Hero-Villain combat is quite a spectacle, yeah, but your Quirk is perfect for deescalating situations and winning fights without anyone getting hurt."

"Alright, alright, alright, back up a bit. Earlier you said you know how my Quirk works, right?"

"Sort of. It looked like you could only exert control over people that answer a question you ask. For example, I just answered your question, and now you could use your Quirk to wrest control of my body away from me." After he said that, the other student once again focused on Izuku's eyes for a moment before he began to tear up. "Hey, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" _Does he have some personal issues regarding his Quirk?_

"Nah, nothing special. Just… just let me quickly rub away the tears, okay?" After he did so, he presented his hand to Izuku, who took it and shook it. "Hitoshi Shinsho, at your service and a part of your team."

"Izuku Midoriya, a really good strategist and happy to have you." _I'll ask him about those issues later- provided he's willing to share, at least._ He gestured to the rest of the crowd. "Do you think you could help me find some other people to ask?"

"Unfortunately, most of the people here are from the Hero Course, so I don't know anyone. Matter of fact, there are only two people here that aren't from the Hero Course; me and some girl from the Support Course."

 _Support… that's a good idea! Most of the people in the Hero Course know or have a good idea about what each other's Quirks are, but Shinso and that other student are wildcards in terms of ability. That should give use a slight advantage in the upcoming Turf War._ "Where do you think she is, Shinso?"

"Right here, boss-man!" A loud voice to their left suddenly shouted, and the two messy-haired boys turned to see a pink-haired girl with dreadlocks and yellow crosshair-like eyes all up in their faces. They both recoiled from how close she was. She didn't care about that and instead stuck out her open hand. "I'm Mei Hatsume, inventor extraordinaire! Me and my babies are ready for any sort of action!" She pointed to herself and her 'babies'- Mechanical gadgets she likely created herself, functioning as boots and a pack on her back.

"Babies?" Shinso asked

"I'm guessing you view .your inventions with motherly love?"

"That's right! Now, Mr., ah, Midoriya, was it? I heard you were looking for me, but I've also looked for you too! After all, you had quite the performance during the pentathlon, what with you whiffing the first-place finish but managing to creep your way into last place. I mean, all the Pros have their eyes on you now! I'm actually surprised you don't have as many people asking you to be on their team for the upcoming second event, especially since all the adults are looking at you with wide interest."

"Eh, I got last place. People are probably thinking I'm unlucky or something."

"I call bullshit but I'll accept it. Anyway, speaking of luck, I'm thinking that you're my lucky break, Mr. Last Place! See, if all the Pros are looking at you, then they might see me and my babies too! And if Pros can see me and my babies, then special Support companies like Detnerat will be looking at me and my babies too! First impressions are everything, and if I can make a good first impression with those companies, me and my babies will be one step closer to being a Super Support Inventor!" Izuku gave her a once over, eyes widening at something he saw on her back pack.

"Well, I can see you're already on your way there. That's a pretty nice-looking jet pack right there. Were you inspired by Buster Hero: Air Jet's air jets?"

"Oh my gosh, you got it right! Yes, ad just like the Pro Hero's air jets, anybody can become a high-flying Hero with this baby on! And other than that, I also have-"

"That's great. Super. Really, it's amazing." Shinso stepped in between the two of them, hands up in the air. "But we don't have time to stand around talking about your, uh, babies. We still need to go and get our equipment. If possible, I think it's be nice to have another person in our group- it is supposed to be 3-4 people."

"Been thinking about that, Shinso. And I've been looking around, but several people I wanted to ask were already in full groups. They were people that either had perfect Quirks for dealing with a paintball fight- or as they're calling it a Turf War- or they were people I had good cohesion with. That limits the options of what people we can have on our team. By the way, Hatsume? Quirk details, please." She gave a happy salute.

"My Quirk is Zoom! By concentrating, I can look at things from up to five kilometres away! I can also use a lower setting for help in fine-tuning some of the specific parts on my babies, like these specialized grooves on my air pa-"

"Maybe when we aren't pressed for time, Hatsume. Personally, I'd love to hear more about your babies- support item inventors are woefully underrated- but not now." As he looked around, he spotted Iida, and was about to flag him over before the glasses-wearing student approached Todoroki. He tried again when he saw Jirou, who instead went to Momo's group of three; Ojiro, Tsuyu, Hagakure and Tokoyami were already grouping together. He even tried to look for Uraraka, but she was already in a group with Kirishima and Sato.

As the number of three students dwindled down, it looked like he was going to have to make do with a group of three. It was then that he noticed a lonely pair of thin, curly horns atop a pink complexion. Ashido was somehow not partnered up with any group yet, and was looking around for people to join. She spotted Izuku's hand waving back and forth and eagerly made her way towards the three students.

"Hello there, Midori~! Hello there, fellow students~! You guys looking for a fourth?"

"As if one energetic bubblegum-haired girl was loud enough…"

"It's better to have more, right? Besides, your Quirk and natural athleticism would be good assets for this event." He hiked his thumb towards the other two students. "Want to introduce yourself to your new friends?"

"Before any sort of misunderstanding is made, I'd like to point myself as a neutral acquaintance to you and the other pink-haired girl and only a friendly acquaintance to Midoriya." Pinky stifled a small chuckle at Shinso's sass.

"Quite the mouth on ya, huh?" She held out a hand. "I'm Mina Ashido, friend to all who come my way!"

"Neutral acquaintance."

"Nope! Friend!" Shinso groaned before introducing himself and shaking her hand. After doing a small fist-bump for what she saw as a win, she then held out a hand towards Hatsume. "And you, my fellow rosy-haired companion! Whats your name?"

"Mei Hatsume!" She firmly clasped the other's hand. "Me and my babies are glad to meet ya! Speaking of babies, how'd you like for me to make you a custom one? What are your three measurements? Arm and leg length? Quirk specifications?" As Mei rattled off more and more questions, and as Ashido kept on giggling because she found this all amusing, Shinso couldn't stop himself from giving Midoriya an exasperated look.

Greenie just shrugged.

* * *

As the four walked away from the equipment garage, black vests and armguards and shingaurds over their U.A. athletic uniforms, they looked at the stage that Cementoss had changed up. Instead of being a simple tile arena, it was now a three-storied two-floored structure with maze-like corridors and columns inside its multicolored. They came out just as Cementoss was finishing up with the outer walls, creating concrete walls with open windows. The Festival arena's JumboTron was showing each of the 12 different teams- 6 comprised of 4 students and 6 comprised of 3 students.

While other students were making their way out of the garage, Midoriya's team was once more checking over their… unique gear. Of course they had regular things like paint canisters- green for their team- and goggles or, in Shinso's case, helmet. What was unique was their paintball- Was it even paintball?- equipment. Izuku, for example, had twin pistols as well as two large paintbrushes as big as his regular Escrima sticks, all four with paint canisters attached to them. Shinso was toting around what looked like a paint-shotgun-umbrella thing as well as several spraypaint cans. Ashido had a large roller brush that with several canisters and Hatsume had a spraypaint rifle and what Izuku could only see as paint grenades.

 _At least my team and I aren't the only ones confused by this. It seems everyone else is kind of confused about this "Turf War." Except for Poni, for some reason- she looks giddy. I wonder why?_ He looked up to the announcer's box. _It looks like Mr. Aizawa and Mr. Yamada are getting ready to explain. Good._

" **Alright! Folks, are you ready? We're about to finally start this event!"**

" **In case anybody is wondering, this is a new event that Present Mic has been trying to approve for some time. He says he was inspired by some videogame from a bygone era."**

" **Quiet, Eraserhead! Now, let me explain the rules to all of you students and audience members! As I said earlier, this is a Turf War! This isn't some ordinary paintball fight; this is a paint-** _ **splatter**_ **fight! Each team gets control of a different portion of the building Cementoss made; your areas have already been marked out for you by splotches of paint matching the colors your teams have. You all have two different goals: the first is to increase your team's area by painting the walls, floors, and ceilings of the building, and the second is to eliminate members of the opposing teams by coating at least 90% of their vests and guards in your teams' paint colors! And all of this takes place in the span of six minutes!**

 **When those six minutes are up, the teams will be ranked on how much ground they covered; if any team gets completely eliminated, then rankings will be based on how much ground they covered before elimination and how long they lasted. Take care, students, because only the top 4 teams will move on to the next, and final, event of the Festival!"**

This piqued everyone's interest. A final event, a last showdown… everyone grit their teeth and steeled their resolves.

" **Before my over-eager fellow commentator starts the match early, I'll let each team know how much ground they have to protect and how much they need to cover."** The screen on the JumboTron started to change; a number and percentage sign appeared next to each team on the screen. The numbers started to spin, like in a lottery. " **We based it on the ranking of your team's various members. If your team is composed mostly of those that did well in the first event, the area you start out in is bigger, giving you a slight headstart but also meaning you need to guard a wider area. Conversely, if your team is composed of those that did poorly during the first event, you have a smaller area to patrol and a smaller head start."**

The numbers stopped. Sitting with the most pre-painted area to watch was Team Todoroki, with 25% of the whole building. Meanwhile, Midoriya's team was lucky enough to be in the middle of it- only 12% to protect, but another 88% of the entire map they needed to cover.

"That's a lot of ground we need to cover…" Shinso remarked warily as they and the other teams were ushered into the building towards their respective spawn points. Izuku just cocked his guns in response.

" **Alright, with that outta the way, let's start the countdown!"**

"No need to cover it all, Shinso. So long as we have the most by the end, that's all that matters." He directed his attention to the rest of his team. "Watch out and don't get eliminated. Are the communicators we recieved with the goggles and helmet working correctly?"

" **Three!"**

"Yup!"

"Yeah."

"With some modifications, I can make the signal 3 times bigger and the sound 2 times cleaner! Oh, right, yeah, it works!"

" **Two!"**

"Alright, remember- spread out to cover more ground, and don't hesitate to ask for help over the communicators. A team survives on its team members."

" **One!"**

The sound of guns being cocked reverberated throughout the entire building. Izuku took a deep breath.

" _ **Go!"**_


	22. I Never Played Splatoon Before Pt2

From their little corner, the four of them split off to cover more ground but were stopped in their tracks by another group. Izuku tsked; he had forgotten to take into account how much space other groups would take, as well as their proximity. Currently, the green-painted team of four was facing off against a team of three sporting black paint. Well, considering how the team included Tokoyami, it was closer to a four-on-four skirmish.

For a moment, none of them moved, all of them too cautious. The first to move was a student with jet-black skin standing next to that mushroom-haired girl from earlier; he suddenly sunk into the black-painted floor, and the other two- er, tree- tried retreating while spraying their guns. In swift retaliation, Hatsume lobbed one of those paint-grenades she took earlier. It landed in between all three students and quickly went off, splattering globs of paint across the walls, floors, students and Dark Shadow. A few quick bursts from Shinso's umbrella-shotgun thing eliminated the two students, and left the last one inside the only blob of black paint left. A pair of UA's servant-robots appeared from nowhere, and began to corral Tokoyami and the mushroom out of the combat zone.

 **"And we already have our first three eliminations- Tokoyami and Komori from Black Team, and Koda from Grey Team! Not only that, but the battle lines are already shifting back and forth between the various teams! This is especially true for Team White and Team Orange, who are vigorously fighting each other on the second floor! But don't take your eyes off that first-floor camera, folks- with most of the teams occupying the bottom floor, that's sure to be a quite a skirmish!"**

 **"You are _too_ excited for this, Present Mic."**

"Behind the umbrella!" The other three members did, and they did so at an opportune time; while Shinso was waiting for the jet-black student to leave his hidey-hole, a pair of students came up from behind them. One of them was a serious-looking girl with black hair- the other was a pious-looking girl with vines for hair. The girl with vine-like hair quickly used it to form a defensive wall around the two of them as a small burst of paint from Hatsume's rifle struck it uselessly.

" **Acid Bunker!** " Taking a page from the girl's book, Ashido used a high-viscosity low-solubility wall of acid.

"Hey, you," While those five were in a standoff, Shinso decided to stop waiting. "How about you get out of that hole?" His eyes softly glowed purple.

"No!"

"Well, then I order you to get out of there. And stand still when you do so." At his command, the other student on Tokoyami's team came out of the back paint and allowed Shinso to coat his front. "Turn around." Again, he obeyed, and Shinso got another student eliminated.

While that happened, the Vine user's vines parted a little to reveal a much larger, periwinkle version of the paint rifles they were handing out as materials earlier. With a simple nod from Midoriya, Ashido clogged it up with some really sticky acid, jamming it in the process. Midoriya used this moment to spray them both with his paint pistols; they weren't eliminated, but they were forced to retreat. They used this moment of reprieve to paint the surrounding area, claiming a bit more of the structure for their team.

 **"Nice Quirk usage from Team Green! But they seem to be lagging behind most of their competitors- how about they stop stalling and move around already, huh?"**

"Alright!" Greenie turned his attention to the rest of his group as he activated his regular Full Cowl. "Now we can use this chance to split up! Shinso, stick to the walls with your shield held high! If it gets taken from you, you can use this other gun of mine. Ashido, stay as close as possible to our starting area, set up walls of acid to limit access to our turf, and stay away from narrow pathways whenever you need to move. Hatsume, keep those grenades hidden inside one of your babies and only use them in a pinch!" He received a nod from each of them. "Alright! Now, finally… **Scatter!** "

With that, they separated from each other and went their different ways across the building. As they did, Izuku ran into a very hairy student that looked like a beast wearing smart-people glasses. They held each other a gunpoint, Izuku with his single remaining paintgun and the other student with an umbrella-paint-shotgun.

"Mr. Last Place. Your class made quite the reputation for yourselves this year, and you made quite a show during the first event. Would you care to give me your name?"

"Izuku Midoriya. Yours?"

"Jurota Shishida." Izuku could feel the other student's smile. "I saw your interactions with your teammates during the selection process. You seem like a nice person. I would enjoy talking with you in the hallway every now and then. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to try and eliminate you now."

"Try?" He could see Shishida shrug.

"Sir Midoriya, the future is not certain. This encounter could end multiple ways." With a leaping spin towards the wall, Izuku coated part of the floor between them in green paint. Shishida retaliated with a shot of his own, but Izuku kicked off the wall he jumped towards, leaving only his legs to be coated with Shishida's red paint. His kick shot him towards the floor.

"But you see, Shishida," He said this as he began to use the paint on his legs and on the floor to slide around, zig-zagging between the globs shot at him. "If you don't go after the future you want," He said this as he flipped over the umbrella, positioning himself directly above the other student, paint-pistol at the ready. "Who's to say you'll get it?" He coated the student in a stream of green, just enough to coat him to elimination.

"I must say, Sir Midoriya, that was quite the conviction you had there. Splendid act!"

"Despite me getting past your defenses, you remained calm. Nice job, Shishida!" As he watched him get dragged away by a robot, he sprayed his paint everywhere, reloaded his paint, and continued to travel across the interior maze of the building.

As he passed by corridor after corridor, painting all the way, he occasionally ran into his own teammates, each one covered in different splotches of paint but luckily not yet sightseeing did not distract him from his environment, however, as he narrowly dodged a very sparkly laser beam from the side. He used his momentum to continue rolling, avoiding a series of pink shots that came from Aoyama and Jiro.

"Sorry, Greenie, but I know that we gotta rough you up a bit if we want to continue. You're too dangerous not to eliminate." She shrugged, holding a paint rifle in one hand. Before he could reply back, however, he felt a strong vibration in a wall beside him. Throwing himself forwards, he avoided a large soundwave blasted in his direction, as well as the different hues of paint that were splattered off the wall as a result. He looked to Jirou.

 **"Oi! Team Pink! Careful with the building! You can't take turf that's been destroyed!"** Another boom resounded through the area. **"Team Orange, what did I just say?"**

 **"Bakugou, listen to your teachers. Also, please do not destroy the stairs as you and your team make your way down the stairs to try and eliminate more teams."**

"Either you've honed the properties of your Quirk's sound manipulation or you're teamed with Yaoyorozu. Or maybe it's both, I don't know."

"Do not delude yourself, mon ami. We would not tell you our team's plans secrets et stratagèmes." He fired another navel laser at Izuku's feet, who dodged it by leaping forwards and upwards over the beam. This would have left him open to the duo's followup shots had he not aimed for the ceiling, and kicked off it towards them.

His perceptive eyes saw something shining in Jiro's hand, and as he landed he felt the vibrations again. He flipped backwards to avoid another soundblast, but this time he tried to shoot at Jiro's hand with the paint pistol. He missed, instead only snagging her left upper arm and a bit of her chest gear.

"Whatever you have with you there probably came from Yaoyorozu, right?"

"Looks like the cat's out of the bag." She held up her hand, revealing a remote control of sorts. "What's happening is-" It was quickly removed from her possession when Izuku threw one of his paintbrushes at it. "Hey!"

"Talking shouldn't be a free action, and since you were holding it up, how could I not take a shot?" He said this as he advanced closer, gear at the ready to coat them in paint. Probably cursing under her breath, Jiro picked up the remote- hard to do when it was covered in slick paint- and tried to run off to the side. After taking a few potshots at Izuku, Aoyama also fled, only to run directly into a Jiro that was quickly backpedalling.

"Mademoiselle, quoi-"

"Angry Bakugou in that area! I ain't going near there!"

 **"Oi, Eraserhead! Control your students!"**

Jiro and Aoyama fled the scene. In regards to the blonde, Izuku had to agree, especially considering how he was down a brush and needed to paint the hallway he was in anyways. As he took back his brush and sprayed down the wall, he couldn't help but take a peek as to what riled up the living dynamite now. He wasn't too surprised when he saw him trying to chase down a different blonde student.

Neito Monoma, a fervent hater of Class 1-A and a Class 1-B supremacist. He was very vocal about it during the entire festival to the point Izuku just tuned him out. But it was hard not to now, since he was being chased by a flying, explosive missile named Bakugou. Catch was, Monoma was also currently an explosive flying missile.

 _Copy Quirk? Dangerous, but seems like a fun-_ He quickly whipped his head around as he heard the sounds of an engine coming close to him.

Sure enough, Iida was speeding towards him, sporting a giant white paint roller and inking up large swathes of the wall, covering up most other colors- especially Izuku's green paint. With the roller as big as it is, it could probably eliminate a person in just one or two swings. For someone as fast as Iida, that would be child's play, especially with slower characters or those that didn't have good enough reflexes.

Izuku was both, and he was taking a risk here by using those traits to run straight at Iida (and away from the warzone). While he ran, he leapt upwards, aiming to go above his glasses-wearing friend. Iida anticipated this and also leapt up, heel raised to swat down the emerald fighter. Izuku tried to get away and shoot himself downwards by kicking the wall, but instead recieved a faceful of white paint; Iida had swung the roller, coating the entirety of Izuku's back. That caused him to mess up his landing and land on his ass.

"Gah! Tailbones suck…" He rubbed his sore butt as he got up, and gave his peer a wary eye. "And I thought me and Yaoyorozu were the designated weaponry users. Shouldn't you be sticking to kicks, Iida?"

"A Hero should be willing to adapt to any situation, even a situation that limits what they can do! Now, while eliminating you here would make it easier for me and my team to paint this building, my Quirk is much more suited to area coverage in this situation. So, good day to you, Midoriya!" Without another word, Iida sped off, avoiding confrontation. Midoriya brought his hand up to his earpiece as he casually began to spray the white paint green.

"Hey, uh, Ashido? Yeah, Iida's making his way further into our area." Without looking, he shot his paint pistol at Mineta, who was trying to sneak up on him, and scared the little grape boy away.

 **"What an amazing Turf War we have so far- already, our combatants have been cut down to half! However, many teams are still standing, and some of which even have all their members on them. Nice job, students!"**

 **"Again, I'm not sure why this 'Turf War' is an event in the Sports Festival…"**

"Do you think you could set up some acid traps of varying stickiness and slickness to stop him, and then you could paint him and some of the area he painted? I'm not doubting your ability, I'm just asking if you're free to do it." From the corner of his eye, he saw Ojiro aim a paint rifle at him. He did a backflip as Ojiro fired. "Okay, do you need back-up for this? Alright, I'll leave the Class Representative to you."

Ojiro shot at him again as he hung up the call, and again he flipped out of the way. As he flipped, he shot his paint pistol, which Ojiro also dodged. They danced this dance, flipping around each other while trying to eliminate each other, shooting paint everywhere and marking the walls. Izuku brought up his hand to shoot, and Ojiro went for another flip; it was a feint. Insted, Izuku leapt at Ojiro, paintbrush at the ready. With Ojirao in the air, it would be hard for him to avoid Izuku's strokes.

Which was why Izuku wasn't too surprised when he saw a "floating" paint sniper rifle in his peripheral vision. He barely had time to dodged to the paint shot and followup tail thwack. "Of course you'd be partnered up with Hagakure." He saw purple coming up from his peripheral vision. "Luckily, this isn't a two on one." Shinso quickly jumped between Hagakure and the two martial artists, umbrella shield facing the invisible girl.

"Really, Midoriya? You're working with this guy?" Ojirao dodged a paintbrush swipe.

"Oh come on, he isn't too bad." He dodged a paintgun-tail combo. "Besides, you just didn't like how he used his Quirk on you, right? Can't you two talk it out and resolve this tension or something?"

"Please don't talk like you're my psychiatrist." Shinso grunted as another paint shot splattered on his umbrella. Ojirao went for a shot at Shinso's back, but Izuku kicked the gun away. The shot traveled a fair distance, droplets flying off it and onto the walls, before it went splat across Bakugou's face and into the angry boy's mouth.

The area around the four students went very Quiet. The only sounds of conflict were the ones from upstairs- the downstairs maze was absolutely deathly afraid. Bakugou's eye twitched, absolutely livid at how he was forced to have paint plastered all across his mouth. Monoma, who he held at gunpoint, swallowed very audibly before he was roughly shoved aside by the living dynamite.

" _Who wants to die today?_ " Kacchan said as Monoma was swiftly eliminated by his teammates. Nobody moved a muscle. Ojirao was sweating very hard.

"... Now, Kacchan, we can-"

"I CHOOSE _DEKUUU!_ "

 _Me and my bleeding heart._

* * *

 **College takes too much time outta my life...**


	23. I Never Played Splatoon Before Pt3

_Run. Dodge. Dodge. Pot shot. Dodge. Run._ Those were simple commands that Izuku kept on telling himself as he and Bakugou tore through the Turf War area. This was dangerous, and not only because Bakugou was dangerous, but also the gear he was using for the event. Instead of some sort of gun, he was using several paint grenades- which looked like they were never touched- and a paint bucket strapped to his back. Bakugou's explosions jerk the bucket around, causing it to splat paint everywhere.

" **Look at Bakugou shoot like a rocket! It's such a sight to see that I almost forgot to announce that a few more people have been eliminated from the Turf War. And we're only now just reaching the half-time mark!** "

" **That means that you students have three minutes left to gain territory or eliminate others.** "

" **Time sure does move weirdly, huh, partner?** "

 _As this chase goes on, Bakugou's team's area increases in size! Flicking paint off my brushes and shooting at the walls is fine for limiting it, but I really need to either give this bull-head a new red flag to chase or just eliminate him!_ He quickly ducked under a drop kick and ignored the spilling orange paint from Bakugou's bucket. He brought up his paint brushes, one after the other, in a wheel-like stroke, but Bakugou just kicked them away. _If only it was so easy to deal anything more than half a stroke._ Once more, he ran, passing by several students that refused to get in the crossfire. _And the fact that he can just dislodge the marks with enough explosion-powered spins is bogus. What company manufactured this paint?_

" _What company manufactured this paint? -bzzt -. This stuff is way too easy to get rid of._ "

" _Hatsume, please don't use the chat to vent frustration. I don't need this while I'm tying to survive not getting painted._ "

" _Oh, don't be so sour, Shinso!_ " Izuku put his hand to his ear

" _I don't need this background chatter when I'm being chased by Bakugou!"_ As he did, he saw a certain little grape ahead of him, ready to throw one of his sticky purple orbs at another student. Izuku then had an idea that involved the sticky thing. He used a small Boost to give himself an acceleration, blindsiding Mineta and grabbing him by the collar.

He threw the student at Bakugou as a human projectile. The Explosioneer just kicked away the smaller teen, but left himself open to another thrown object. When Midoriya picked up Mineta, the grape dropped his paint-sniper rifle- causing him to ask what type of game did Present Mic get this idea of an event from- as well as the ball he was holding. Before it could stick itself to the ground, Izuku caught it with the dropped piece of equipment, and flung it at Bakugou.

Unable to control himself after using that kick, the ball stuck firmly to his knee. Due to Izuku using Full Cowl, the throw was considerably strong. Bakugou was still dealing with his own rotatory force from kicking away Mineta, and the added energy from the throw spun him into the nearest wall- knee first, of course.

"Fucking- hell- God- shit- piece of- sonuva- mother **fuck!** " The hot-tempered boy was trying his best to dislodge himself, but it was all to no avail. So, he gave up, and just took his paint bucket from his hip. "You fucking shit!" He swung it in an arc, flinging paint everywhere, but not hitting the martial artist. Izuku just calmly sauntered up to Bakugou, paint pistol trained on him, but jumped back when the blonde held out his hand. "Fucking try it, I dare you!"

"... You know, you make a good point. I'll just spray down everything here with green paint, avoiding the range of your explosive blasts, and skedaddle." And with that, he left the irate blonde behind, ignoring all his swearing and screaming. _And while I'm at it, I should try to hide from Kacchan. He's eventually going to free himself by tearing his pants leg on that ball, and I don't want to be close enough to feel the fallout when he does._

As he got farther away from the vocal stick of dynamite and the sound of Mineta laughing at Bakugou- rest in peace grape boy- he couldn't help but notice the lack of other students on this floor. Straining his ears, he could barely hear the sounds of combat coming from above. He nodded to himself, and then put his hand to his ear. "Squad check, status report."

" _Still here_."

" _You should've seen some of the tricks I did with this roller!_ "

" _Currently collecting enemy paint grenades that were duds, modifying them to work, and filling them up with our paint instead!_ "

"You know," he began to say as he sprayed down the mostly empty lower halls, while eliminating a hidden Hagakure in the process. "I can't tell if you've all noticed, but most of the fighting down here has stopped."

" _Yeah! Oh, and good idea with the acid traps! I got, like, six people with them!_ "

" _Good thing for me, too! I have Baby 340- a little drone camera- connected to my visor that's looking at the jumbotrons outside, and a good deal of camerawork was focused on me and my babies! Support companies already know me and who I am, yeah!_ "

"The jumbotrons? They have the status of the different people and teams, right?"

" _Yeah, they do! Oh, I get it- you want information, right?_ "

"Yup. Who's still in, who's out, what space each team has- it'd be nice to know how much work we have to do." He quickly dodged a barrage of blue paint globs and ducked behind a wall, fingers still on his earpiece. He fired a few shots in return, but only managed to scare them into taking their own defensive position. From what he could see, they were an orange-haired girl and a ponytail-wearing guy. Itsuka Kendo and foreign transferee Hiryu Rin, both experts at close-quarters combat. Izuku knew he'd have an easier time trying to gun them down than having to lock paintbrushes with the two of them.

" _Good idea._ "

" _Yeah it is! I'm already regretting my decision to have a roller as my main piece of gear. I mean, I'm no slouch in the physical department, but this sorta thing is more for you and Sato, Midori. It'd be nice to know how much longer I have to lug this thing around, ya know?_ "

Izuku noticed that he was in an area with another team's paint and just sprayed all around him while the two blue-painters were playing defensively.

" _Alright, alright, alright! My baby's looking at the data right now. So far, there are still 18 people in this Turf War- our team, three members of White Team, four of Orange Team, and several from random teams. White Team and Orange Team are leading the pack at 30% territory marked and 28% territory marked, respectively. As for us, we're in fourth place- 15% territory gained, and rising!_ " He heard what sounded like an explosion of paint. " _Make that 17 people left!"_

" _We can maintain our position and focus on only defense for now._ "

" _What? But that's boring!_ "

"Shinso's right- it'd be a smart move to play. But I'd still like to get a higher score, too. Hatsume, can you tell us the distribution? Who's on each floor?"

" _Sure! Three of our team's on the first floor- I'm not, I'm on a stairwell heading up to the second. All of White Team and a few others are mostly situated on the top floor. Two of Orange Team are down there on the first floor with the rest of you guys, and two are part of those on the second floor. Two other guys from different teams are on the first floor._ "

" _We have an advantage on the_ first floor." Shinsou came into Izuku's view, and the two waved at each other. Shinso then flinched as his umbrella was splattered with more blue paint, and went to hide with Izuku.

"Mei, can you see what team has who?" He flinched a little when a a blue paint-grenade was landed right in front of him and Shinso. Quickly, he kicked it away, and it exploded against a nearby wall. Shinso marked it down with a couple of his own globs of paint before reloading. "I'm certain Kacchan is on the Orange Team, making it a pretty dangerous team to tackle. I need to know who else is Orange so I can plan how to deal with them and Kacchan's rage."

" _Rage? What'd you do this time, Midori?"_

"I stuck him to a wall with a Mineta ball. He's probably gonna free himself by tearing a bit of his clothing, and I need a plan to deal with that!" He yelled into the earpiece as he circled around the wall, looking for a way to get closer for a surprise attack on the two.

" _From what I can tell, Kacha- I mean, that Bakugou kid managed to rope in a guy that's like an octopus, a guy that has no lips, and a guy that looks like a dispenser of glue. Names, names, names… Ah! Octopus is Shoji, lipless is Honenuki, and glue is Bondo._ "

" _I saw that Bondo guy spray a bunch of sticky fluid everywhere a during the pentathlon to slow down some of the other racers. Even I got trapped in it! I only got out because I could melt my way out._ "

"The description you gave of that Honenuki guy sounds an awful lot like someone I saw during the pentathlon, too. Looked like the dude was making quicksand pits or some- aah!" Shinso yelled, as half of his body got hit with blue paint. "Hey, can y'all stop firing at me? Tch, I hate it when people know how my Quirk works…"

"Meanwhile, Mina and I know Shoji can create different body parts with his Quirk, including sensory organs. It sounds like Kacchan made a team of defensive Quirk users to hold down their fort while he gets to take point and 'kill some people'. I doubt their enjoying being so sedentary."

" _As for White Team, my baby sees that they have an Uraraka, a Tetsutetsu, and that Todoroki guy. Wow us, White, and Orange all have someone who had a lot of attention from the pentathlon. All the Pros' eyes are on us! And all the Support companies, too!_ "

" _They also had Iida, but I already eliminated him._ "

"While Kacchan went with a defensive wall, Todoroki went for people who had a way to move around his Quirk so they could work as a unit. Both are solid strategies to have, and both teams implemented them well for the most part. But Kacchan's essentially working alone, and Todoroki's down a player… team, if we play our cards right, we can shoot ourselves up to first place!" Izuku heard another explosion of paint, and looked around the wall he was hiding behind. Mei had taken out Kendo and Rin, and was happily waving back at him and Shinso.

" **And that makes 15 people left! Who'd have thought all these students could take each other out so Quickly? But it's not over yet. Any and all remaining teams need to hurry- only 90 seconds left on the clock! Do your best to take territory or defend your own in the time you have left, students!"**

"90 seconds? We need to work fast, Midoriya."

"It may seem so, but that's actually not that short of a time frame. Besides, I already have a plan in mind for bringing us up to first place." Izuku put his hand up to his earpiece. "Ashido, you still there? You didn't get taken out yet, right?"

" _Uh, hello? I was just talking to you, Midori, like, 5 nanoseconds ago._ "

"Just checking. Sit still, Ashido- the three of us will head towards your position. Hatsume, can you tell us where she is?"

"Yup! My baby on the jumbotron's showing me right where my sister-in-pink is! Just follow me! Oh, and of course, don't forget to mark your territory, boys!" As they ran through the walled halls, Izuku heard an explosion from somewhere. Not an explosion of paint, but a regular explosion.

"DEKU!"

" **14 students left! Oi, Eraserhead, control your student a bit, will you?"**

" **Mineta will be fine. But Present Mic is correct, Bakugou- lower your use of force."**

"Kacchan broke free, huh? Good! That actually raises my plan's rate of success!" Izuku stated matter-of-factly as the three of them barreled through- and thoroughly painted- a defenseless Kouda.

" **13 left!"**

"We have a living heat-seeking missile on your trail, and by extension our trail. How is that good?" Shinso asked as they came upon Mina, who was cheerily waving at the group. While she acted cheerful, she looked tired and was slightly sizzling. She was using her Quirk the most out of the group, and it was beginning to take its toll on her.

"The fact that Kacchan is free is good because that means he's mobile. We can take advantage of that fact, as well as the fact that he's pissed at me because of something that's not entirely my fault." _Kacchan, your lone-wolf personality is going to cost you!_

" **What a fabulous play by the White Team! We're now down to 11 students, and three teams! How is this going to go down? Are they going to eliminate each other until there's only one standing, or will they stand their ground and doggedly mark territory until the time runs out?"** Izuku grinned even wider. With no one else around, his plan would work without a hitch. He quickly reloaded his paint-pistol and reapplied paint to his paint brushes, and turned to the rest of his group.

"Alright, guys. Here's the plan…"

* * *

 **A/N: This is taking too long... at least it'll come to an end soon**


	24. I Never Played Splatoon Before Pt End

"And that covers that. Everyone understand?" Mina spun the umbrella-shotgun Shinso traded to her, a grin on her face despite the acid smoke coming from her body. Shinso was testing the heft of the roller in his hands, finding it uncomfortable and just left it on the ground. He gave a thumbs up to Midoriya. Mei was giddy as she took in the sight of all the objects in front of her. She, too, gave an affirmative nod. Izuku twirled around the paintbrushes in his hands and crossed them over his chest. "Then it's go time!"

With Full Cowl still coursing through his body, Izuku bounded off the walls, determined to reach his target. The walls of the area were a mishmash of color splotches- reds, blues, yellows, and most importantly for him, greens. They weren't all just splotches, though. They had imprints in them, too. Fists from close-range fighters, cracks, chunks that had broken off and were lying on the floor. He even saw what looked like a mold of Kirishima's face. And, of course, there were singe marks from a certain bundle of tnt.

Even after Mr. Aizawa and Present Mic chewed him out of it.

"DEKU!"

Think of the devil… He could see Kacchan coming at him from a mile away. He was angry, of course. But that didn't mean Izuku was going to have an easy time with this. Rather than turn him into a raging bull, Kacchan's rise in blood pressure turns him into a sharpened sword focused not on wanton destruction but complete obliteration of a target. When Kacchan intercepted him, rather than hit him with a straightforward spinning hook kick, the blonde feinted and instead went for a rocket-powered back kick.

He wasn't expecting for Izuku to kick his foot out to the side and for a burst of air to propel him out of the way. Landing in a spin, he glared at Izuku's feet. On them were a pair of silver boots with tubes going down the side of them, connected to several nodules across Izuku's upper chest. A few nodules were green. On the shins of the boots was a sakura-pink crosshair.

"Where'd you get those shitty shoes, Deku?"

"My teammate, Mei Hatsume. She's a Support Course student that invented some nice gadgets- I mean, babies. This one is something special that she had on her during the entirety of the Turf War- modified a bit to launch small droplets of paint with every use. It's a bit low on gas, but it's still got juice in it. I just kick out my leg, and a stream of air rushes out from the bottom. As you could see earlier, it allows me to maneuver around mid-air, just like you."

Izuku knew that would tick his peer off. He prepared to takeoff down the hall and away from Bakugou. "Now, I'd like to play with you, but I've got my sights set on a bigger fish: Todoroki. See ya, Kacchan." He took off, pinballing across the walls as he looked for a staircase to go up.

" _Hey! How're you liking Baby 42? Is she treating you well? Are you treating her well?"_ he heard his earpiece crackle.

"Hey, Hatsume! The added mid-air mobility from your baby is something I'm not completely used to, but it sure is fun! Makes me wonder if this is how Kacchan feels like whenever he flies using his explosions." Speaking of which, he could hear them coming up from behind him. Perfect. Not only am I copying his style, but I stated Todoroki was the bigger foe. With bait like this, no popfish won't bite! "Hey Hatsume, can you ask your other baby to lead me to where Todoroki is?"

 _"Got it! Okay, looking at the cameras… Alright! From where you are, make a left!"_ After passing a corner, he kicked in midair, propelling him to the left. _"Right! Right! Left! Right! Left!"_ He arrived at the staircase. _"Nice job getting there quickly. Now, don't bother me, because this genius needs to get to work with these charges!"_ She clicked off her earpiece.

Nice work ethic, Hatsume. Now then, He stared up at the second floor. While there were still multicolor bits of paint around, he could see large globs of white. He patted something on his chest, and smiled to himself.

"Deku I have you now!" Before Bakugou could nail him with a strong explosion, Izuku Boosted his legs and did a moonsault up the stairway. As he flipped through the air, he looked at Kacchan, stuck out his tongue, and used Hatsume's boots to shoot forward. Flipping around, he turned off the Boost, landed on a wall, and resumed his pinballing. It was a bit harder to pinball around on the second floor, however- there were less maze-like walls and more clearings. But still, he kept moving.

As he searched around the floor, he spotted that familiar head of red and white. Todoroki was in one of those clearings and was accompanied by the familiar form of Uraraka and the steel carapace of the Kirishima-clone. From the sounds of it, they were already engaged in paint warfare with the rest of Bakugou's team. That was a slight hitch to Midoriya's original plan, which called for Shinsou to stealthily put Bakugou's team under his thrall, but this outcome could be worked around.

Using a midair kick to position himself back on the ground, Izuku landed in a runner's starting pose. He allowed for that familiar One For All energy to pool in his legs, Boosting them, and then took off running. The ground beneath was thundering, and he easily captured Todoroki's attention. By that point, he had already leapt, and was flying towards him. With his paintbrushes held before him, it looked like he was going for a vertical attack with both of them, and so the half-and-half teenager moved to the side as he could. But it was a feint, and Izuku instead went for a horizontal attack.

Both their eyes widened: Todoroki because that paintbrush was getting awfully close to the right side of his face, and Midoriya because he could see the orange underneath Todoroki's skin.

Quickly, Midoriya kicked away from Todoroki, which also caused a small amount of green paint to splatter onto Todoroki's face. It didn't amount to much, however, since the paint just burned right off. As soon as the conflagration happened, however, Todoroki shut the flames off.

The sudden inferno halted all action in the area. Bakugou's team wasn't shooting, Todoroki's team wasn't shooting, and all was quiet as Todoroki and Midoriya stared at each other. Midoriya was shocked, and a little elated, that he managed to get Todoroki to show a glimpse of his full power. Todoroki, however, was feeling threatened. He didn't want this to happen.

In this state, he attacked first, and sent a wave of ice towards Midoriya. The more agile teen dodged it, and Todoroki ended up making a wall between the two different teams. The green-haired student grinned. Even as he was facing down three different students- a physical powerhouse, a special powerhouse, and a status-inducing powerhouse- he couldn't help but smile. With the ice wall separating the two teams, things could now go according to plan.

"S." He stated into the earpiece as he dodged several bursts of white paint. "Do it."

 **"Hurry it up, students! 45 seconds left!"**

"What!?" Iron Kirishima gritted his teeth as he pointed his twin pair of paint-pistols at Izuku. "Shit! Uraraka!"

"On it! Todoroki!"

"Go!"

White Team's plan was a simple one that carried them pretty far throughout the Turf War. Ochaco would remove her weight and Tetsutetsu's weight, floating them up as Todorki froze the ground beneath his opponents. Should the opponent not get caught, Ochaco would release her Quirk, and Mr. Alloy would quickly turn into Steel. His density cracked the surface of the ice, allowing him to walk without slipping, while Uraraka could just stay prone on the ground and hit people using her paint-rifle. If she needed to move, she could just slide around the ice like a penguin.

The second outcome of that tactic was what they were gunning for. Todoroki knew Midoriya could just jump over his Quirk, and then he'd have to deal with the slippery surfaces while his team was free to outmaneuver and outpaint him. They didn't account for Midoriya deciding to jump across the walls and pepper them with shots from his own paint pistol. When he froze the walls, he didn't expect Midoriya to start kicking the air to reorient himself. Todoroki couldn't just trap him between two ice walls either, because Midoriya could just burst through them. He already did so once the whole exchange, and he busted out while completely covering Uraraka in paint in a surprise blow.

 **"Ten Students remaining! 37 Seconds!"**

"Rrargh!"

And everything's coming together. Kacchan had found where Izuku was, and while pummeling the verdant hero-trainee was high on his list of goals, seeing Todoroki really whipped up the competitive fire inside of the blonde. He immediately went for a kick to Lukewarm's right side of the face, where he could score a knockdown- and also slosh him with paint from the bucket he had- but it was intercepted by way of a Tetsutetsu headbutt.

With another explosive blow, Bakugou both attacked Tetsutetsu and retreated a small distance away. He could feel his shin throbbing from kicking a man made of steel. He quickly dove to the side as Tetsutetsu tried to spray him down with white paint, being mindful not to spill any of his orange paint. Of course, due to being on a sheet of ice, he slipped and slidded, but quickly turned that into an advantage. His explosive palms allowed him to move around the ice like he was on rocket-powered skis, he intended to take full advantage of that.

Meanwhile, Izuku was dealing with Todoroki, trying to avoid icicles, waves of frost, cold stalactites and stalagmites, and bursts from Todoroki's paint rifle. Meanwhile, he fired off his own shots at Todoroki, and was far more accurate with his hits. Yes, they occasionally got blocked by walls of ice, were sidestepped, or they landed on the other teen's right side and were evaporated, but they still hit very accurately. Even with all the obstacles in place and everyone's constant movement, Izuku could reliably get a hit in.

By the first user of One For All, I'm glad I did projectile training. He promptly ducked under a clothesline from Tetsutetsu, who had managed to position himself and Bakugou to be between Midoriya and Todoroki. Using his Quirk to knock me out and then safely paint me? Not surprised. He was, however, surprised by the force behind Tetsutetsu's gut punch. Denser than anticipated…

He drove a knee into Tetsutetsu, sidestepped a hook, and got blasted by Bakugou. He slipped on some Todoroki ice, slid around ice spikes sent his way, blocked a Tetsutetsu blow, tanked a Bakugou explosion, whipped out his paintbrush and made criss-cross marks on all the other students. He fired some paint at Bakugou, was splattered by Todoroki, avoided Bakugou's bucket, and shot Tetsutetsu in the back with paint. Bakugou got some white on him, the two teens with names that start with T had splatters of orange and green covering them, and Midoriya was sporting a large orange and white splotch that made him look like an Irish flag.

Chaotic couldn't begin to describe the brawl he had made his way into. But it was exactly what he wanted. He wanted for the main players to be distracted by an intense brawl so he could finish up this Turf War with a bang. He knew that Bakugou was unconcerned with his team and thought they were using their defenses to pull their weight. He knew Todoroki was confident in all the turf he and his team covered, that it would be enough to give them the match.

 **"20 seconds left, folks! This is all coming down to the wire! Of these teams, of these top three teams, who's going to take the first place this time? Which powerhouse will take the gold? Who?!"**

 **"You're too loud. I'm trying to sleep."**

 **"C'mon, Eraser, most of them are your students…"**

The ice wall Todoroki created to block Shoji, Bondo, and Honenuki began to sizzle and steam- it was melting, and it took away Todoroki's attention. Meanwhile, Bakugou saw that his teammates had circled around to the side without the ice wall. They had blank faces and rifles held at the ready.

"Bastards, what the hell did I say before, huh? Guard the area, dammit! I can't eliminate these assholes if I need to watch out for you guys t- woah!" He ducked when he saw that they were firing, because he saw they were shooting green paint. The salvo took out Tetsutetsu, and it distracted Todoroki some more.

"9 students left, and only 17 seconds left!"

"Alright you three, stop shooting." Shinsou commanded, as he came out from behind a corner. "And let these guys enjoy the show." Suddenly, the entire structure vibrated- it was as if Bakugou had went apeshit and started using full-power explosions everywhere. Again, Bakugou and Todoroki were shaken up by what had happened. They didn't notice that Midoriya had backed up near the ice wall where a hole had melted through. Ashido's pink hands came out, holding a special paint pistol and a special paint canister. Izuku quickly swapped his pistol and one of his canisters for hers while the other two powerhouses were being distracted.

In any case, Todoroki created another ice wall between him and Bakugou's team, boxing him in with Midroiya and Bakugou. Tensions could not be higher

 _"Hey, Mr. Last Place!"_ Izuku's earpiece rang. _"The charges me and my Baby drones planted gave us 40% of the entire map! Just letting you know in case your last part of the plan falls through."_

"Which is why you're the one hiding downstairs as we enter the last few seconds!" Izuku charged forward, paintbrushes at the ready. He dodged a wave of ice, got hit by an explosion, marked the both of them with paint, ducked under a kick, and was injured by a wave of frost. But he was smiling about it as he swung the brushes around.

 **"8 seconds left!"**

Izuku threw himself backward as Bakugou kicked him, lessening the force as he disengaged close combat. He whipped out the special pistol and attached the paint canister.

 **"7 seconds left!"**

The green haired teen took aim at the space between Bakugou and Todoroki, and prepared to shoot. Todoroki was cool-headed enough to understand that a shot like that wouldn't hit him, but the high-strung Bakugou did not.

 **"6 seconds left!"**

Bakugou flew forward and kicked the pistol out of Midriya's hands.

 _Too late, I already pressed the trigger! And in only a few seconds…_

 **"5 seconds left!"**

He quickly flung a paint brush at it as the pistol began to glow a bit.

 _Your distracted selves are going to have an explosive surprise!_

 **"4 seconds left!"**

Bakugou readied an explosive blast. Todoroki was taking aim with his rifle. Neither noticed Izuku's paint pistol started to swell a little.

 **"3 seconds left!"**

 _Eh, a little more Turf would be nice._ With a quickness, Izuku Boosted his arm with 20% of One for All and punched the wall of ice behind him, shattering the ice and exposing the hallway. Ashido, who was told earlier to move away from the hallway, simply marveled at the strength required to do that. Meanwhile, the other two combatants were confused- why attack that when he could do one last thing to try and eliminate them?

 **"2 seconds left!"**

"Bakugou! Todoroki! Good Game!" He winked at them.

 **"1 second left!"**

Izuku's pistol exploded in a torrent of paint, completely coating all three 1-A students in green paint and splattering across the walls. Bakugou couldn't explode himself away in time. Todoroki couldn't erect an ice wall in time. Midoriya just stood still and smiled, happy at himself despite dripping with paint. The buzzer rang.

 **"0 seconds left! White Team has been completely eliminated! Orange team has survived elimination, losing only one team member! Green Team completely survived the Turf War! And as such, the winners of the second UA Sports Festival First-Year event is the Green Team!"**

* * *

 **A/N: That took too long**


	25. Pre-Fight Dialogue

" **An outstanding, if simple, strategy from Green Team!"** Cheered Present Mic as the last few students were being herded out of the Turf War area. " **Gathering all the pieces in one place and then not only taking them all out but also getting a decisive victory in how much turf you acquired? What a powerful idea! And what excellent teamwork from our first place winners!"**

"It may have been my idea, but I couldn't have done it without everyone else's skillsets."

"You know they can't hear you, right Midori?"

"Doesn't matter, Ashido. I'm still going to say it. Team efforts aren't to be wasted, after all."

" **But we can't just forget the other competitors as well now, can we? Coming in second place is White Team! While Green Team's camaraderie really only shone in the last leg, White Team was working together flawlessly throughout the majority of the event, leading them to have a combined final total turf of 18.5%! This, combined with how late into the game they managed to survive, nets them second place!"**

" **Sticking to a single area and clumping together is a viable and effective strategy. Following their mistake to send Iida out on his own, their subsequent decision to stick together and focus only on gathering turf on the second floor was a smart one. Well done."**

"Apologies, you three! If I had not been reckless earlier-"

"Don't sweat it, Iida! I feel that Deku's team still could have won anyways. His strategy was mostly about taking advantage of everybody's mindsets, after all."

"Yeah, and that classmate of yours also knows how to hit! If Class A and B ever get a chance to compete together like this again, I'd like to go fist-to-fist with that guy! After a bout with my fellow bro over there! Yo, Kirishima!"

Todoroki didn't say anything. His face was glued to the screen, which was showing a recap of White Team's actions. He growled a little when they got to the moment Midoriya ignited the flames within him. His scar was throbbing as he thought about how to approach this matter at hand…

" **In third place, we have a team that didn't survive until the final stretch, but nonetheless had a good amount of area claimed before they were completely wiped! At a 21%, I'm of course talking about Yellow Team! Again, another group that had great synergy with each other! They could effectively deny any team from accessing an area, and that's an essential skill to have for Heroes- protection!"**

" **Still, you lot should learn to pace yourselves. Especially you, Kaminari- you went over your wattage limit before halfway through the Turf War. You should also learn to not rely on a single strategy. Adapt to the situation at hand. remember it."**

"Eto… translation please! I did not get all the information your teacher has said right now."

"Basically, we need to think more. In any case, it was fun working with you, Tsunotori! And great plan, too!"

"Ah, I have the pleasure, Sero!"

"Wheeeeeeeeee…"

"Man, Kaminari, how long does it take for your short-circuit to wear off? Still," Kirishima looked to Ashido and Midoriya. "I am a bit irritated we didn't do better… stop that, Kirishima! Remember, its all about getting up after getting beat down! That's why my Quirk is about rock-hardness!"

If one listened closely, one could hear Mineta chuckling at those statements that Kirishima said loudly to himself.

" **And barely managing to make the cut, having gathered a total of 14.3% before the time ran out, it's our other team that managed to survive until the very end, Orange Team! Their mix of offense and defense allowed them to have a strong standing for most of the game, but unfortunately, their offense wasn't enough to get them a higher placing! Their defense, however, was enough to keep them in the top four!"**

" **Spreading out your coverage between the first and second floors was a high-risk high-reward tactic that ultimately did not come to fruition; the moment your only sentry went up to the second floor was the moment you lost half of your score. Work on your team tactics and teamwork more."**

"This is not entirely unfortunate. At least we managed to make it into the final event." Shoji stated flatly.

"That last bit with the Brainwashing kid had me scared for a moment! Although, now that I think about it, having all this attention on our team is also a bit scary…" Bondo whimpered. He felt a hand on his shoulder as Honenuki gave him... something that passed for a smile, what with him having no lips and all.

"Don't worry about the crowd, Bondo. You'll do well in the upcoming event! Just focus on getting as far as you can go, alright?" The lipless teen said to his classmate. While his much taller peer stammered out a response, he couldn't help but let his eyes drift towards a certain head of spiky blonde hair.

Bakugou was shaking as he stared at the jumbo screen. Was it out of anger? Frustration? Or was it because he was replaying the events of the last event in his head? After all, he did get played right into Izuku's hands, exposing his weaknesses to the world. To the Pros. As he turned his head to glare spitefully at the green-haired martial artist, Bakugou couldn't help but also contemplate.

* * *

After being given a five-minute time span to completely remove their paint-soaked gear, the lucky students that survived to the last event walked back out to see that that Cementoss's building was gone. There was only a stadium again, devoid of paint.

" **Looking nice and clean there, contestants! Now that you're all here, I'd like to formally announce our third event for UA's First-Years Sport Festival!"**

" **The first event was focused on physical capability. The second was about being able to work with others. This last event will focus on your ability to neutralize threats. In other words, a combat tournament."**

" **Don't say it so casually like that, Eraserhead! Say with more gusto! Like this: In other words, a COMBAT TOURNAMENT, FOLKS!"** The entire stadium burst into a roar. People were cheering like their lives depended on it. How could they not? Pro Heroes are largely famous for how they took down bad guys. Plus, this is primetime entertainment for the masses, watching somewhat skilled people try to knock each other out.

While the stands were the most vocal, it was the students that were the most excited. Many of those that made it to the end were people with blazing and competitive souls. For the peanut gallery, it was not only entertainment but a chance to cheer on their friends with extreme fervor. It was also convenient for better studying their peers and for making some quick cash. What teen wouldn't make bets on their friends, after all?

The emcees introduced a referee for the combat event- Midnight, the R-18 Hero and Modern Hero Art History teacher of U.A. She quickly went through the rules of combat- elimination by incapacitation or ring-out, and matchups determined by lottery. As the positions were put on the jumbotron screen, Izuku half-sighed, half-grinned. He sure had his work cut out for him.

 _First match of the first round, I need to fight Honenuki, a student who got in through recommendation and apparently has a tactics-oriented mind. Works well if that Softening Quirk he has. Passing that, in the first match of the quarter-finals, I have to contend with either Kirishima or Tetsutetsu, both hard-heads with knuckle-breaking defense. In the Semi-Final round, the most dangerous opponent for me to face between Hatsume, Iida, Shoji and Todoroki would have to be Todoroki. After all, I did rile him up enough to use the flames he hates so much. Then, in the final round, between Bondo and Sero, Pony and Hitoshi, Kacchan and Uraraka, Kaminari and Ashido, I'd be likely to face Kacchan. Explosive, angry, highly-skilled Kacchan..._

While Izuku was thinking, the students were being corralled out of the field and into the stadium for a five-minute break for rest and recuperation. In regards to his thoughts, he simply cracked his knuckles. Time for him to strategize, after all.

* * *

Izuku spent his five minutes munching on a Recovery Girl gummy or two in the preparation area- he was going to be fighting in the first match, after all. He sat there, planning out how he was going to get around Honenuki's softening abilities in a flat and open area, when he felt a warm hand fall on his shoulder He turned around to see All Might grinning down on him in his skeletal form.

"Young Midoriya! Great work out there, lad! Excellent usage of your mind and body. You definitely have the attention of the crowd now!" Izuku quickly stood up as he turned to greet his predecessor.

"Much of that is thanks to you, All Might! Especially since you've helped me get to where I am today." All Might noticed that he had a few of Recovery Girl's stamina-restoring gummies. "Those? Well, I was moving actively throughout the entire second event, and now we have to go through a combat tournament- very intensive and taxing on the body. I need to keep my stamina up throughout, especially when I decide to show off the fruits of my labor to everyone."

"That's good, Young Midoriya. Am I to assume these 'fruits of labor' you speak of are something new?"

"That's right! A new... technique, of sorts. A new... usage of One For All I managed to develop during the training break. It's highly stamina-draining, though, which is why I'm preferring to keep my gas tank mostly filled. It's also why I haven't shown it yet; if I use it, people will instantly note the stamina loss and use that against me. Once I unleash it though, I'm going to give it my all to win. I'll make sure other people do, too." He said all this with a face of steel, of conviction. It was a very serious face that made All Might a bit worried.

"Young Midoriya," he began after thinking for a few seconds, "while I acknowledge your desires to win and to... help Young Todoroki with his issues involving his Quirk, I would advise you to not make such a scary face. Remember, you're going out there to show the world that you are here." He bulked up into his muscle form and gave a brilliant grin. "When you do so, smile, Young Midoriya!" He gave Midoriya a thumbs up.

"Yes, All Might! I'll smile with confidence!" He paused. "Wait, how did you know about Todoroki?"

"Ahh…" He transformed back into his skeletal form. "Well, part of it is in his student record. Teachers are free to put notes in student records about things like behavioral problems and academic progress. From what I've read about Young Todoroki in his records, he stubbornly does not use the Fire side of his body. It's also something I've seen with my own eyes during training; Young Todoroki really only uses his ice during class. Originally, I believed it was to prevent unnecessary damage to both other students and to his environment, but after reading his record- and hearing you talk about some people not using their fullest potential at the Festival today- I can see now that it's something different."

"Yeah…" Izuku looked down towards the table. He suddenly slapped himself on both cheeks, and looked back up at the ceiling, at the light that shone above. "No use moping around! If I have time to worry about how to help out Todoroki, I have time to think up ways to counter Honenuki's Softening Quirk!" He gently shooed All Might out of the room. "Sorry, All Might, but I need the space and silence. This is especially true if Honenuki is as tactical as I think he is."

"All right, all right, Young Midoriya. But you must remember-"

"Don't worry!" He smiled confidently at his mentor. "I'll go out there with a smile on his face! And I'll also beat him with a smile on my face! Like you said, All Might, I need to let the world know I'm here! I've done plenty enough of that during the first two events, but I need to do it for this last event too!" While he was somewhat surprised at first, All Might now had a grin that matched his protege.

"Go get them, Young Midoriya!"

"I will, All Might!"

* * *

 **Omake: Daycare**

It was a lovely morning in the woods. Flying-types were singing in the sky, bug-types were chirping on the tree bark, and water-types were enjoying a river next to a clearing. This was a nice forest, largely unclaimed by man, other than a small cottage with a white picket fence surrounding the clearing.

A door to the cottage opened up, revealing a scraggly man with messy black hair. He had a box with twenty red-and-white capsules in it. Grabbing them all, he chucked them one-by-one into the air. Each capsule opened in a flash of light, revealing various creatures of different shapes, sizes, and temperaments.

"Alright, you lot," they all turned to face the human. "Your trainers have dropped you off here while they have business in the nearby town that doesn't allow Pokemon. So, just stay here and kill time however you want. Try not to get into a fight, or whatever." The man went back inside the cottage, and all of the Pokemon looked at each other. Several of them gave faces that passed as smiles- they each knew other, because all of their trainers knew each other.

They all started to mingle and play with each other. They mostly went into their own separate groups, with one or two members of each group interacting with members of another group. For example, while the Octillery mainly stuck with the perverted Trubbish, the Staryu, the Whismur and the Machoke, he would often go off to converse with the Kecleon, who was usually with the other girls and hanging off the Aipom's side.

Everyone's mingling came to a halt, however, as two of the Pokemon began to bicker and argue. It was a green Riolu and a very yellow Monferno.

" _Screw you, Deku! I already told you, Kirishima's playing with me and my group!"_

" _Dammit, Kacchan, you can't just drag the poor Geodude over to your group without asking him first!"_

" _C'mon, guys, can't we just get along or something?"_

" _No!"_ they both yelled at him simultaneously. Immediately, the two glared at each other again. Without warning they both began to fight with each other.

Over to the side, a red-and-white Vulpix was having a rather peaceful conversation with a female Delibird, casually ignoring the battle going on.

" _Todoroki, would you like to try this poffin my Trainer bought at the mall?"_

" _I would, Yaoyorozu."_ Unfortunately, before he could even get thing into his mouth, a stray pebble from the Riolu and Monferno's fight was launched into the poffin, knocking it out of the Vulpix's hands.

A wave of ice cut through the play area, accidentally catching a Pikachu in the process. Riolu and Monferno turned their heads to see Vulpix joining the battle, leaping at them with icicles and will-o-the-wisps at the ready. The Pikachu, in a vain attempt to free itself, accidentally electrocuted the Noibat it was flirting with. The Noibat then screeched, lowering the attack of all the Pokemon in the play area and startling a Staryu into firing its lasers around. One of these lasers hit the Geodude, who was trying to stop the three-way battle, which accidentally made him tackle the Aipom and Kecleon. Kecleon stumbled over to the Trubbish who, in excitement, released poison gases throughout the entire field. A very square and justice-loving Boltund was trying to race to the door to alert the breeder as to what was going on, but he got dragged into the battle as well. An Espurr was trying to psychic-away the poison gasses but lost her concentration when her Forgadier BFF, affected by the gas, started to hit on her (despite both being female and thus unable to produce an egg). This sight excited the Trubbish even more, so he started to release toxic sludge alongside the poison gas. The Octillery was thoroughly grossed out and tried to stop him, alongside a Spinarak preparing a sticky web, but they tripped over Murkrow's shadow and landed on top of his Whismur friend.

Everything was chaotic until, while inside the poison gas cloud, the Monferno decided to try using Fire Punch.

Needless to say, the gas ignited and blew the entire play area to kingdom come.

"Hey, did you hear something?" Breeder Mic said to his totally-not-boyfriend Breeder Aizawa as they were cuddling on the couch inside the cottage.

"...Goddammit, its always _those_ trainers' Pokemon. I'll get the Revive."

Hours later, a group of children came to the cottage to pick up their Pokemon. Aizawa had to get another pack of revives after some blonde trainer and a greenette got into a fist fight with their Riolu and Monferno cheering them on from inside the fence. Then those two promptly fought and knocked each other out too.

At least this time he didn't have to call Champion All Might to come and fix this mess between his son-slash-protege and his second-favorite.

* * *

 **A/N: NGL actually got bored of writing this banter. Omake was an interesting topic to Tackle, though**


End file.
